
(lass r 3 y 

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6& 



OF THE 



HISTORYOF NEW-HAMPSHIRE, 



FROM ITS SETTLEMENT IN 
1623, to 1833 : 



COMPRISING NOTICES OF THE MEMORABLE EVENTS AND 

INTERESTING INCIDENTS OF A PERIOD OF 

Ttt'O HUNDRED AND TEN YEARS. 



BY JOHN M. WHITON. 



CONCORD: 

MARSH, CAPEN AND LYON. 

1834. 



Entered according to an Act of Congress, in the year 1834, 

By John M. Whiton, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of New-Hampshire 



CONCORD, 

Eastman, Webster k Co., 
Printers. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



This book is but an outline, intended chiefly for those who 
lack time or inclination to encounter a large work. Valuable 
as is the History of Belknap, its size and cost exclude from the 
number of its readers a large proportion of the citizens of 
New-Hampshire. Our State History is not to any great ex- 
t in the popular mind. To exhibit its memorable events 
i interesting incidents in a condensed form, fitted to produce 
a salutary moral impression, is the object of the author. How 
far he may have succeeded, must be left to the decision of the 
public. From all quarters he has borrowed whatever suited 
his purpose. In relation to the earlier periods of our History he 
is indebted to Belknap for a large proportion of the materials : 
though many facts of interest derived from other sources, wil' 
be found interwoven with the narration. He acknowledges his 
obligations to the Historical Collections of Messrs. Farmer and 
Moore ; the Collections of the N. H. Historical Society ; and 
the valuable Notes appended by Mr. Farmer to his edition of 
Belknap. He has derived important materials from the Ga- 
zetteer of Farmer and Moore, the Travels of Dwight, and the 
Annals of Portsmouth by Adams. Some facts have been 
gleaned from the Histories of AVinthrop, Mather, Hutchinson? 
Trumbull, Williams, Sullivan, and Hoyt ; from the Annals of 
Holmes ; from the American Biography of Belknap, and the 
Biographical Dictionaries of Allen and Eliot ; from Thatcher's 
Lives of the Indians ; from the Ecclesiastical Sketches of 
Greenleaf; from Bouton's History of Education in New- 
Hampshire ; from a variety of Pamphlets ; from Newspapers ; 
from Manuscripts, and Records in the office of the Secretary 



IV 

of the State ; and from the oral communications of aged and 
intelligent persons. 

For some, important hints and corrections the author is in- 
debted to the kindness of John Farmer, Esq., Corresponding 
Secretary of the N. H. Historical Society. This gentleman 
authorizes the statement, that the design some time ago en- 
tertained by him of preparing for the press an Abridgement 
of Belknap, has been relinquished. 



HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. 



To fix in the mind of the reader, by an arrangement designed 
to aid the memory, the principal Epochs of our History, it will 
be divided into Periods, according to the following 

TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PERIOD I. — Extending from the first settlement of the State in 
1623, to the voluntary union of the inhabitants with Massa- 
chusetts in 1641. 

PERIOD II. — From the union with Massachusetts in 1641, to 
the separation and erection of New- Hampshire into a distinct 
Royal Province in 1679 ; including the events of the first In- 
dian war, called Phillip's war. 

PERIOD III. — From the erection of New-Hampshire into a 
Royal Province in 1679, to the close of King William's war 
in 1698. 

PERIOD IV.— From the peace of 1698, to the close of Queen 
Ann's war in 1713. 

PERIOD V. — From the peace of 1713, to the establishment of 
the Provincial lines and the appointment of a separate Gover- 
nor for New-Hampshire in 1741 ; including the events of tlie 
three years', or LovewelVs war. 

PERIOD VI.— From the appointment of a separate Governor 
for Neiv- Hampshire in 1741, to the end of the second French 
ivar in 1763. 

PERIOD VII.— From the peace of 1763, to the commencement 
of the Revolutionary war in 1775. 



PERIOD VIII. — From the commencement of the Revolutionary 
contest in 1775, to the establishment of the present Constitution 
of Neic- Hampshire in 1784. 

PERIOD IX. — From the establishment of the present State 
Constitution in 1784, to the commencement of Gov. Langdori's 
Administration in 1805. 

PERIOD X. — From the commencement of Gov. Langdon's Ad- 
ministration in 1805, to the year 1833. 



PERIOD I. 



FROM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF THE STATE IN 1623, TO THE 
VOLUNTARY UNION OF THE INHABITANTS WITH MASSACHU- 
SETTS IN 1641. 

The coast of New-Hampshire and the fine harbor of the 
Pascataqua are commonly, but somewhat incorrectly said to 
have been discovered in 1614 by the celebrated English navi- 
gator, Captain John Smith. It is certain that the coast from 
Cape Cod to Passamaquoddy had been frequently visited by 
European vessels engaged in Indian traffic and the fisheries 
for a preceding period of thirty years ; and highly probable 
that some of the adventurers must have found the river Pas- 
cataqua. Smith however explored the coast from Cape Cod 
to Penobscot, and constructed the first map of it, which on his 
return he presented to Prince Charles, afterwards the unfor- 
tunate Charles I., who gave the country the name of New-Eng- 
land. Eight years afterwards, Captain John Mason and Sir 
Ferdinando Gorges obtained from the Council of Plymouth 
in England, who held a Charter from the British King of an 
immense region in America, a grant of the lands lying between 
the Merrimac and Kennebec rivers, and extending back to the 
river and lakes of Canada. This tract was called Laconia, 
and it included New Hampshire and all the western part of 
Maine. They admitted several merchants of London and 
other trading places to some sort of partnership in the concern, 
and styled themselves The Company of Laconia. 

This Company sent over in 1623 several persons to form a 
settlement on the Pascataqua. They arrived in safety, well 
supplied with provisions, tools of various kinds, and other ne- 
cessaries. The precise time of their landing is not known : 
from the name of " Strawberry Bank " which they applied to 
the spot where the compact part of Portsmouth now stands, it 
would seem that a profusion either of strawberry blossoms or 
fruit welcomed their arrival, which must have been of course 
sometime before midsummer. Of these Colonists, a part un- 



8 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1623. 

der the conduct of David Thompson established themselves 
on Odiorne's point at Little Harbor, two or three miles below 
Portsmouth, where they erected a house called Mason's Hall, 
and constructed works for the manufacture of salt. The oth- 
er part, under the direction of Edward and William Hilton, 
planted themselves at Dover Neck, to which they gave the 
name of Northam. For some years these establiskments were 
merely fishing places and advanced but slowly, Dover being the 
more important of the two. Fish were taken in abundance ; 
and salt being indispensable to their preservation, the people 
at Little Harbor prosecuted the manufacture of it with dili- 
gence and success. Their nearest neighbors on the south were 
those at Plymouth ; on the east were a few scattered settlers at 
Kittery, Saco, and one or two other points on the coast of 
Maine. 

From the surrounding Indians they obtained by barter some 
furs and peltries. A considerable number of this aboriginal 
race, amounting probably to 5000, then dwelt within the State. 
A small tribe was planted in the vicinity of Exeter ; another 
under a chief named Rowls, near Dover ; and a third, the 
Pascataquas, on the banks of the river of that name. The 
Ossipees roamed around the Winnepiseogee and Ossipee lakes, 
and the Pequawkets on the upper branches of the Saco river. 
The large tribe of the Penacooks occupied the lands on the 
Merrimac, making Concord and Amoskeag their chief places 
of resort. Passaconaway, famous in the early annals of New- 
England, was their Sachem. This man pretended to be a 
Sorcerer and made his credulous subjects believe that he could 
produce a green leaf from the ashes of a diy one, a living ser- 
pent from the skin of a dead one, and could make water burn 
and trees dance ! He probably excelled in the arts of leger- 
demain and became one of the most noted Powahs or Conju- 
rors among the tribes of New-Hampshire. No Indian resident 
of this region ever acquired so great a celebrity among both 
red men and white. He extended his dominion not only 
over the Indians in the central and eastern parts of this State, 
but over some small bands in the northeastern part of Massa- 
chusetts, and his authority was acknowledged from the mouth 
of the Merrimac to a point considerably above Concord, and 
also on the different branches of the Pascataqua. The tribes 
within these limits formed a confederacy distinguished by the 
general name of Pawtuckets, of which the Penacooks were 
the most important member, and Passaconaway the Supreme 
Head. He was advanced far in years when the English first 
settled here, lived at least forty years after that event, and was 



1629.] period i.— 1623— 1641. 9 

said to have died at the great age of an hundred and twenty — 
a statement which has justly been pronounced to have " an air 
of exaggeration." On the Connecticut river were some small 
tribes whose names, with the exception of the Coos Indians* 
whose hunting grounds extended over large portions of the 
Counties of Grafton and Coos, are now unknown. These 
tribes for half a century exhibited in general a peaceful dispo- 
sition, and treated even with friendship the little band of En- 
glish immigrants whom they might easily have exterminated. 
They have disappeared from the earth and most of their me- 
morials have perished forever ! The occasional exhumation 
of their bones, and the frequent discovery of arrow-heads, 
stone pestles and hatchets turned up by the plow, are all that 
remind the present inhabitants of their ill-fated predecessors! 
Scarce an Indian now remains in the State. 

It might be expected that a Colony so feeble as was that on 
the Pascataqua, would furnish during its first years few events 
of interest — and such is the fact. As is usual in such cases, 
the adventurers had their hands full in preserving in any tol- 
erable comfort their own existence. Some events of the date 
of 1628 awakened apprehensions,which however proved to be 
premature, of Indian hostilities. One Morton, an unprincipled 
man, had formed an establishment at Weymouth in Massa- 
chusetts, where he harbored runaway servants and sold guns 
and powder to the Indians, many of whom were met in the 
woods armed. Apprehensive of the consequences, the people 
on the Pascataqua joined with others in requesting the Plym- 
outh Colony to break up Morton's establishment: which was 
effected by an armed force under the gallant Capt. Standish, 
who made Morton a prisoner and sent him to England for 
trial. 

The year 1629 is the date of a deed signed by four Indian 
Sagamores or Chiefs, conveying to the Rev. John Wheelwright 
and others a large tract of land between the Merrimac and 
Pascataqua rivers, extending back into the country as far as to 
the present town of Amherst. The consideration was a few 
coats, shirts, and kettles. Recent investigation has resulted in 
the discovery that this deed is not genuine, and that Wheelwright 
never made a purchase from the Indians till 1638. The mo- 
tive of the forgery, it would seem, must have been to throw 
some obstruction in the way of Mason's claim. 

There is evidence that the founders of New-Hampshire 
purchased their lands of the aboriginal possessors, on terms 
satisfactory to the latter. It is not uncommon of late to charge 
our forefathers with cheating the Indians in these purchases ; 



10 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1631. 

but a little reflection will in most cases acquit them. To the 
Indian, who had a profusion of other lands, a few coats, axes, 
or kettles were a capital object : and trifling as their value may 
seem to us, were a greater benefit to him than he could possi- 
bly derive from keeping the land. To the English purchaser, 
the value of his acquisition was created chiefly by the labor 
bestowed on it, and the price, under all circumstances, 
as much as he could well afford. In relation to both par- 
ties the transaction was fair and beneficial. An amusing 
occurrence illustrative of the justness of these views, is re- 
lated by Dr. Dwight. Among the early settlers of Springfield, 
Ms. were a carpenter and a tailor. The latter had purchased 
of an Indian for a trifle, 5000 acres of interval in West-Spring- 
field. Wishing to purchase a wheelbarrow of the carpenter, 
he offered him at his choice, the making of a suit of clothes, 
or the tract of land. After some hesitation the carpenter took 
the land. If the state of things was then such that an En- 
glishman could sell 5000 acres of fine land for a wheelbarrow, 
an Indian might well afford it for a shirt or a kettle. 

Near the close of the year, Mason and Gorges by mutual 
agreement divided Laconia into two parts. The tract on the 
east of the Pascataqua was relinquished to Gorges, who called 
it Maine ; while the part west of this river, and north of the 
Merrimac extending back into the country 60 miles, was con- 
firmed to Mason by a new patent, and called New-Hampshire, 
after the County of Hampshire, in England, the place of his 
residence. This new grant must of course have been sub- 
ject to the subordinate rights and properties acquired by his 
associates in the company of Laconia. For the security of 
their interests, a part of these associates obtained a grant of 
the township of Dover ; the remaining part of them, inclu- 
ding Mason himself, procured not long after, a Charter of 
Portsmouth. Thomas Wiggin was appointed Superintendent 
of the plantation at Dover, and Walter Neal of that at Ports- 
mouth. Neal's agency was commenced in 1631, and he had 
under his direction several stewards, of whom the principal 
were Ambrose Gibbons, George Vaughan, Thomas Warnerton, 
Humphrey Chadbourne, and Edward Godfrey, who had the 
oversight of the several departments of trade, fishery, salt- 
making, building, and agriculture. These men each superin- 
tended a number of hired servants, including several Danes 
whom the proprietors had sent over to the Pascataqua. Prior 
to this date the chief seat of business and population had been 
at Little Harbor : now, they began to be removed to Straw- 
berry Bank, or Portsmouth, where Chadbourne erected what 



1632.] period i.— 1623— 1641. 11 

was called Tlie Great House. Neal however resided at Little 
Harbor with Godfrey the manager of the fishery, who had un- 
der his care quite a little fleet of shallops, fishing boats, and 
skiffs. The Danes sawed lumber and made potash. Thepro^ 
prietors sent over several cannon which were placed on Great 
Island, in a position to command the main entrance into the 
harbor. 

Wiggin, the proprietary Agent at Dover, took possession of a 
point of land in Newington, and began to make some improve- 
ments. Viewing the measure as an encroachment on his planta- 
tion, Neal, the agent at Portsmouth ordered him to desist. — 
Wiggin refused with threats, on which the parties became exas- 
perated and prepared to appeal to the sword. They would 
doubtless have proceeded to extremities, had not some conside- 
rate persons persuaded them to refer the dispute to their 
employers in England. The place acquired the name of 
Bloody Point, which it retains to this day. 

The White Mountains, so prominent a feature in the scenery 
of New-Hampshire, failed not to attract the attention of the 
early settlers. To the whole group the Indians gave the name 
of Agiocochook. The summits they regarded with superstitious 
veneration as the abode of invisible beings, and never ascended 
them, supposing that these spirits would resent the attempt as an 
intrusion into their sacred precincts. They had a tradition that 
when the land was once covered with a flood, one man and one 
woman only found a refuge on the highest summit, by whose 
posterity the country was afterwards repeopled. Capt. Neal, 
who was by no means devoid of the passion for discovery, had 
heard a glowing description of the interior region as containing 
large lakes, goodly forests, fair valleys, and fertile plains. — 
Something he had heard of the White Mountains. Stimulated 
by the desire of exploring these regions and especially by the 
hope of discovering precious metals, he visited the mountains 
in 1632, and on his return published a romantic and exagger- 
ated description of them under the name of the Crystal Hills. 
The anticipated mines of silver and gold he did not find. 

Not long afterwards he was Summoned to an expedition of 
quite another sort. The coast of Maine was infested by a no- 
ted pirate, Dixy Bull, who had taken and plundered several 
fishing vessels and made himself the terror of those parts. — 
Neal equipped four vessels manned by forty men from Dover 
and Portsmouth, then distinguished as the upper and lower 
plantations, and being joined by a party from Boston, sailed in 
quest of the pirate : but bad weather and contrary winds com- 
pelled them to return without meeting him. Justice however 



12 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1633. 

overtook him at last, for on his arrival in England he was ar- 
arested and executed. 

Neal returned to England in 1633 after having presided over 
the lower plantation about three years, leaving in the hands of 
Gibbons and Warnerton the superintendence of its affairs. — 
Wiggin returned from a visit to England not long after Neal's 
departure, bringing with him several additional Colonists, a- 
mong whom was the Rev. William Leveridge, who officiated 
sometime as Minister of Dover and was the first preacher of 
the gospel who came into New-Hampshire. A meeting-house, 
the first one erected in the State, had been built at Dover Neck 
the year before, and fortified in such a manner that in case of 
an attack it might serve as a garrison. Mr. Leveridge was an 
estimable character ; but his support proving inadequate he 
was compelled soon to remove into Massachusetts, to the great 
injury of the people he left behind. For several succeeding 
years Dover was agitated by divisions occasioned by loose and 
immoral Ministers, such as retire from well-principled societies 
to places where their characters are but imperfectly known. — 
The ill examples of these men, whose names are unworthy of 
a place in history, had a lasting and baleful influence on the 
religious interests of the infant plantation. 

The support of the colony, including the wages, food, cloth- 
ing, and other supplies of their agents and servants, was now 
felt by the Proprietors in England to be a burden. Their out- 
lays had been large ; they had received but small returns ; and 
their fond expectation of the discovery of precious Metals had 
been disappointed. Planted in this vast wilderness, their a- 
gents and servants had as much as they could well do to take 
care of themselves. They had indeed no reason to complain 
that their employers withheld supplies ; but such was the dis- 
tance of the sources whence they were drawn, that the occur- 
rence of occasional scarcity could hardly be avoided. One of 
the principal men with a family of ten persons had been re- 
duced in one of the preceeding seasons to a single half bushel 
of corn, and had but one piece of beef or pork for three months. 
The people were dependent on*England and Virginia for bread- 
stuffs which must be sent to the Windmill in Boston to be 
ground, there being at that time no mill in the Colony. — 
Most of the proprietors became discouraged and either re- 
linquished or sold their interests here to Mason and Gorges. 
The latter soon transferred his claims to the former, who be- 
came almost sole proprietor of Portsmouth. Endued with 
untiring perseverance and sanguine in his anticipations of profit, 
he lost no time after Neal's return in sending over fresh sup- 



1635.] period i.— 1623— 1641. 13 

plies of settlers and goods, and appointed Francis Williams, 
a discreet and worthy man, Governor of that place. 

While fondly anticipating" from these arrangements an im- 
provement in the state of his affairs in the new world, Mason 
was removed by death near the close of 1635. Originally a 
merchant of London, he afterwards became Governor of New- 
foundland, and of Portsmouth in England. His name merits 
the respectful remembrance of future generations as the Father 
or New-Hampshire. Unquestionably he committed some ma* 
terial errors in the management of the Colony, never coming 
in person to oversee the people he employed, but trusting every 
thing to the eyes of others. He failed to establish a govern- 
ment of sufficient energy to maintain good order, and erred 
much in granting lands to the settlers by lease, rather than as 
free-holds : it being certain that the latter tenure would have 
given them a much deeper interest in the prosperity of the 
plantation. In directing their attention less to the cultivation 
of the soil, that surest source of competence, than to lumber- 
ing, fishing, traffic, and searching for precious metals which 
were never found, he erred greatly. No wonder a settlement 
planted in a vigorous climate and thus managed, should ad- 
vance with tardy steps and yield but small returns. Still he 
persevered in his efforts till death : but neither himself nor his 
heirs ever received returns at all proportioned to the outlays. — 
He left the mass of his properties and claims here to two grand- 
sons ; devising however one thousand acres of land for the 
support " of an honest, godly, and religious preacher of God's 
Word," and another thousand for the support of a Grammar 
school. 

Of the war with the Pequots in 1637, which resulted in the 
extermination of that powerful tribe, the chief burden fell on 
Massachusetts and Connecticut, leaving the Pascataqua settle- 
ments undisturbed. Among the whole number of troops who 
achieved the victory was found but one pint of strong ivater, 
as rum was then called — and that was reserved for the sick. — 
To that adventurous and hardy generation, the use of ardent 
spirits was almost unknown, nor did it become common in 
New-England for more than a century afterwards. 

The next year is memorable on account of the first great 
earthquake which occurred after the settlement of the country. 
Its course was from west to east ; its duration, four minutes ; 
its noise like that of a multitude of carriages driven swiftly on 
the pavements. It threw down the tops of chimneys, agitated 
the waters, and shook the vessels in the harbors. 

Religious controversies for a season convulsed Massachusetts 
B 



14 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1638. 

and issued in the banishment from that colony of several distin- 
guished men. The Rev. John Wheelwright, one of the exiles, 
with a company of his friends and adherants, began this year 
the settlement of Exeter. They entered into a voluntary asso- 
ciation for the purpose of self-government, and having obtain- 
ed a dismission from the church in Boston, organized the first 
Congregational church in this Colony. Soon after, a compa- 
ny of fifty-six persons from England with the Rev. Stephen 
Batchelor for their minister, planted themselves at Hampton 
and organized the second Congregational church. Messrs. 
Wheelwright and Bachelor were the first settled ministers in the 
State. A third Congregational church was collected not long 
afterwards at Dover, where the celebrated Capt. John Under- 
bill, another of the exiles from Massachusetts, had obtained the 
place of chief magistrate ; — an eccentric man, who afterwards 
went among the Dutch at New-York and was actively engaged 
in their wars with the Indians. Prior to these events, an Epis- 
copal society at Portsmouth, afterwards under the temporary 
ministry of the Rev. Richard Gibson, had erected a small house 
for Divine worship, there being no Congregational church in 
this town for many years afterwards. 

After the death of Mason, his widow, who had sent over 
Francis Norton as her agent, discouraged with a concern which 
required great expense and brought in no adequate returns, 
sent word to her agents and servants hi 1639 that they must 
provide for themselves. Appropriating her goods and cattle 
in payment of the arrears of their wages, and carrying with 
them the avails of their shares, some left the plantation ; while 
others remained, keeping possession of the buildings and im- 
provements which they henceforth claimed as their own. — 
The Colonists, who had hitherto been governed by the rules 
and orders of the Proprietors in England, were now left des- 
titute of regular government. As a temporary expedient the 
people of Portsmouth and Dover, following the example of 
Exeter, formed themselves by voluntary combination into bod- 
ies politic : Hampton having been considered from the first as 
under the government of Massachusetts. So acceptably had 
Williams conducted the public affairs of Portsmouth, that he 
was now by the choice of the people continued in the chief 
magistracy of the place, with Ambrose Gibbons and Thomas 
Warnerton as assistant magistrates. 

Liable to be overturned by every fluctuation of popular feel- 
ing, these little Republics subsisted but a short time. The 
leading men felt the need of a more stable and energetic gov- 
ernment ; but saw no prospect of attaining it but by a connec- 



164L] period i.— 1623— 1641. 15 

tion with the large and flourishing Colony of Massachusetts. — 
They made overtures for this purpose which were favorably 

entertained. Gladly availing herself of an opportunity to en-. 
large her jurisdiction, Massachusetts in 1641 received the Pas- 
cataqua plantations into union on terms extremely advantageous 
to the latter. Probably at this time their whole population did 
not much exceed 1000 souls. By the terms of union they ac- 
quired the right of representation in the General Court atBos- 
ton ; the privilege of having Courts of Justice erected within 
their own limits"; freedom from all taxes except for their own 
exclusive benefit ; and exemption from the operation of the 
Massachusetts Test Act, by which exemption their freemen 
were allowed to vote in town meeting and their Representatives 
to sit in the General Court, though not church members. The 
union thus peaceably and happily formed, long subsisted to 
the satisfaction and benefit of both parties. 

During the occurrence of the events already related, the tide 
of emigration from the old world poured into other parts of 
New-England a continued stream of population. A consider- 
able company arrived at Salem in 1628; many others soon 
followed and founded Charlestown in 1629, and Boston in 1630 
— the peninsular form of these places being finely adapted both 
fortrade and defence. In 1G35, emigrants from Massachusetts., 
allured by the fertile intervals on Connecticut river, crossed 
the wilderness, driving before them the cows on whose milk 
they depended in part for subsistence, and planted themselves 
at Hartford and the vicinity. Plantations were soon made at 
Providence and New-Haven. The current of population dif- 
fused itself rapidly on the eastern shore of Massachusetts, the 
northern shore of Long Island Sound, up the Connecticut riv- 
er to Springfield and 'Northampton, and down the coast of 
Maine from Kittery to Wiscasset. In 1640, about 20,000 per- 
sons, distributed into 4000 families, had come here from Eng- 
land in the course of twenty years, in 198 ships, of which only 
one was lost at sea. From this original stock have descended 
most of the present inhabitants of New-England, together with 
vast numbers in New- York, Ohio, and other States, amounting 
perhaps in the whole to 4,000,000 souls ! An immense increase 
for two centuries. The tide of New-England population has 
already crossed the Mississippi, and in another century will 
roll westward over the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific ! We 
are reminded of the declaration of Moses to Israel : " Thy fa- 
thers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons, 
and lo, the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of Heaven 
for multitude," 



PERIOD II. 



FROM THE UNION WITH MASSACHUSETTS IN 1641, TO THE SEP- 
ARATION AND ERECTION OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE INTO A DISTINCT 
PROVINCE IN 1679 ; INCLUDING THE EVENTS OF THE FIRST 
GENERAL INDIAN WAR, CALLED PHILIP'S WAR. 

No sooner had Massachusetts spread the wing of' her juris- 
diction over the Pascataqua settlements as New-Hampshire 
was then called, than she made provision for the due admin- 
istration of justice in her new acquisitions. Exeter and 
Hampton were annexed to the county of Essex, while Ports- 
mouth and Dover retained distinct jurisdictions. Francis 
Williams, Thomas Warnerton, and Ambrose Gibbons were 
appointed magistrates for Portsmouth, and Edward Hilton, 
Thomas Wiggin, and William Waldron, for Dover. These 
were the influential men of the day. This arrangement was 
however temporary ; two years afterwards these four towns, 
whose ancient limits were much more extensive than the pres- 
ent, together with Salisbury and Haverhill in Massachusetts, 
were made a distinct county by the name of Norfolk. Each 
town had an Inferior Court of three persons, for the trial of 
causes not exceeding twenty shillings, and Portsmouth and 
Dover had what was called a Court of Associates, whose ju- 
risdiction extended to causes where the matter in dispute did 
not exceed twenty pounds, from whose decisions lay an appeal 
to the County Court. The laws of Massachusetts now operated 
in New-Hampshire, and the history of the two plantations 
during the period embraced in this chapter is blended together. 
Against immorality of every kind the laws were severe : trea- 
son, murder, perjury, blasphemy, idolatry, adultery, rape, un- 
natural lusts, man-stealing, and rebellion against parents, were 
made capital crimes. The Sabbath was scrupulously guarded 
from violation, and even the expenses and modes of dress 
were regulated by legal enactments. 

Apprehensive of some molestation under the new order of 
things, the Rev. Mr. Wheelwright of Exeter, whose sentence 
of banishment from Massachusetts was still in force, thought 
proper to retire beyond the jurisdiction of the authorities of 
that Province, to Wells in Maine. He was followed by sev- 



1644.] period ii.— 1641— 1679. ■ 17 

eral members of his church, who formed a new church in that 
place. Being a man of talent and unblemished character, he 
was soon permitted to return and exercise his ministry at 
Hampton. Some time afterwards he went to England, and 
found a kind reception from the Lord Protector Cromwell, 
who remembered him as an old college acquaintance. He re- 
turned to New-England, exercised his ministry in Massachu- 
setts, and lived to an advanced age. 

Serious apprehensions were excited in 1642, by reports of a 
plot being formed by the Indians to exterminate the English 
by going to their houses on pretence of trade, and killing them 
by surprise. An armed party, sent by the government to dis- 
arm Passaconaway, who then resided for a time near Haver- 
hill, Mass. failed to reach his weekwam on account of a great 
rain, but made one of his sons a prisoner. As they were 
conducting him towards Boston, he attempted an escape, when 
one of the party rashly made a shot at him and narrowly missed 
him. It being soon discovered that the reports of the plot had 
but a slender foundation, an apology was made to the father 
for the act of violence committed on the son, which the old 
Chief accepted ; and not long after, as a pledge of his ami- 
cable intentions, voluntarily delivered up his guns. However 
groundless might have been the alarm, it had the effect the 
next year of inducing the four Colonies of Massachusetts, Con- 
necticut, New-Haven, and Plymouth, to form a league for 
mutual defence in case of attack, either by Indians or foreign 
enemies. As a constituent part of Massachusetts, the New- 
Hampshire towns were of course included in the union. It 
subsisted more than forty years, rendered the Colonies for- 
midable to the Indians, and contributed essentially to their 
preservation. 

Of early New-England simplicity, we have an amusing in- 
stance in the mode of electing some of the public officers. By an 
order of the Massachusetts General Court, corn and beans were 
to be used in voting for Counsellors, the corn to manifest elec- 
tions, the beans the contrary. On putting in more than one 
kernel of corn or one bean for the choice or refusal of a can- 
didate, the law imposed a heavy penalty. 

In 1644 occurred an important change in the form of the 
government. Hitherto the Magistrates and Representatives 
who together constituted the General Court, had holden their 
sessions in the same apartment and acted as one body. From 
this time, the Magistrates met in a separate apartment, consti- 
tuting an Upper House: and bills were sent from one House 
to the other for mutual concurrence in a parliamentary way. 
B* 



18 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1647. 

In a few years after Mason's widow had left the New-Hamp- 
shire colonists to shift for themselves, her principal agents and 
stewards had taken their leave of the Pascataqua, and her 
goods and effects were scattered to the four winds, Thomas 
Wamerton, who had for some time resided at the Great House 
on Strawberry Bank, the name by which Portsmouth was 
distinguished for thirty years from its settlement, went to No- 
va Scotia with a quantity of goods and military stores, formerly 
the property of Mason, which he sold to the French ; and was 
afterwards slain in that country in a rencontre with the inhab- 
itants. The next year Norton, the chief proprietary agent, 
drove an hundred head of cattle to Boston, where he sold 
them at twenty pounds sterling a head. They were of the 
Danish breed, the first cattle brought into the State having 
been imported from Denmark. 

Massachusetts began in 1647, that admirable system of com- 
mon school education which has since spread so extensively 
in the United States. A law was passed requiring a school to 
be kept in each town of fifty families, in which all the chil- 
dren might learn reading and writing. This provided the 
means of education for the poor as well as the rich, and 
brought them almost to every man's door. As the popula- 
tion increased in the several towns, they were afterwards divi- 
ded into sections or districts. To this ancient law, so evincive 
of the wisdom of our Fathers, we may clearly trace the origin 
of the present system of popular Education in the State. 

About the same period was commenced that course of be- 
nevolent effort to evangelize and civilize the Indian tribes, 
which reflects so much lustre on many of the Fathers of New- 
England. Mayhew, Eliot, and other good men, visited many 
of the Indian villages in Massachusetts and Plymouth Colo- 
nies, making long journeys on foot through the pathless wil- 
derness, lodging in their smoky weekwams, and preaching to 
them the plainest and simplest doctrines of the gospel. At 
first the Indians asked many strange questions, like these : — 
Why sea water is salt and river water fresh ? Whether Christ 
understood prayers in the Indian language ? How the English 
came to differ so much from the Indians, if both sprang from 
one Father ? But these good men persevered in their efforts, 
and were successful. In the course of twenty years, numer- 
ous societies of Christian or praying Indians were formed in 
Massachusetts, many of whose members exhibited good evi- 
dence of intelligent Christian piety. For the New-Hamp- 
shire Indians, we regret to say, little of the kind was done. Mr. 
Eliot however visited Pawtucket now and then, a noted fishing 



IG47.] period ii.—1(j41—1G79. 19 

station in the vicinity of Lowell, and preached to the Indians 
in that quarter. The celebrated Passaconaway was one of his 
auditors, and shewed himself friendly to the preacher and 
somewhat inclined to the Christian doctrine. He urged him to 
visit them more frequently, remarking that the preacher's com- 
ing once a year did them but little good, "because they had 
soon forgotten what he taught, it being so seldom and so long 
betweei/ the times," also that he had many subjects " who 
would not believe km, that praying to God was so good," 
who might be convinced by the preaching itself. Some of the 
Christian societies formed among the Indians of Massachu- 
setts subsisted half a century, till death cut off most of the 
members, and the extension "of the English settlements drove 
the survivors into the wilderness. With immense labor, Mr. 
Eliot, deservedly called the Apostle of the Indians, translated 
the whole Bible* into their language. 

Bright as the character of the founders of New-England 
shines, in the traits just exhibited, truth requires the admission 
that it was not free from some serious defects. Their zeal 
was sometimes directed to objects trifling, and even puerile, as 
in their violent opposition to the use of wigs, and the wearing 
of long hair by men. But their most glaring error was a dis- 
position to coerce those of a religious persuasion different 
from their own. We read the accounts of their arbitrary pro- 
ceedings against Baptists and Quakers, with grief and won- 
der that men, but just escaped from the gripe of persecution, 
could find it in their hearts to inflict on others the very evils 
under which themselves had so severely smarted ! The trait 
is incapable of vindication : the only apology that can be of- 
fered is the old one, that it was the fault of the age in general, 
and that the principles of religious liberty were at that time 
imperfectly understood. But after all just abatements, their 
character certainly presents many excellent points. The 
love of civil liberty glowed in their bosoms. Of slavery they 
had a deep abhorrence, of which we have an instance in the 
case of one Williams of Portsmouth, who having bought a 
slave whom a shipmaster had kidnapped and brought away 
from Africa, was ordered to give him up that he might be sent 
back to his own country. Their piety was in numerous in- 
stances exemplarv. For the name, word, and laws of God, 
many of them exhibited profound respect. Whenever they 
settled a new town, one of the first cares was to build a com- 
modious house of public worship, and settle a pious and 
learned minister. For a long period, there were few families 
in most parts of New-England, in which the Bible was not 



20 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1652. 

daily read, and prayer offered morning and evening. It was 
the testimony of one on his return to England from a long 
residence in this country, that in all this period he had not 
heard a profane oath, or seen a person drunk. This testimo- 
ny, though by no means applicable to all places, was doubtless 
true to a happy extent. The first Ministers of New-England 
had been educated at the English Universities, and they 
brought with them extensive and valuable libraries. 

That New-Hampshire had a less proportion of religious 
men among her early settlers than Massachusetts and Connec- 
ticut, is not to be denied. The grand object of the Puritans 
from Holland who landed on the rock of Plymouth, was the 
maintenance of pure religion, and the preservation of their 
children from the contaminating influence of bad examples. — 
Their brethren from England, who soon after established 
themselves at Salem and Boston, had the same aims. Of the 
Company of Laconia — of Mason and Gorges — the main ob- 
ject was commercial, rather than religious. Thompson and 
the Hiltons, who began the settlement of Portsmouth and Do- 
ver, came over to fish, trade, and search for mines of precious 
metals. But the influence of Plymouth and Massachusetts, 
soon extended to the Pascataqua. That New-Hampshire 
must have had a considerable number of religious men, at 
quite an early period, is plain from the fact that Christian in- 
stitutions Avere sustained in all the towns. In 1643, the Rev. 
Daniel Maud, a pious and worthy man, was settled at Dover ; 
and in 1650, the Rev. Samuel Dudley, as successor to Mr. 
Wheelwright, at Exeter, where he exercised a long and useful 
ministry. Hampton also sustained the Christian Ministry : and 
though Portsmouth had not a settled minister till some years 
afterwards, there is evidence that numbers of the people were 
not insensible of the importance of public worship. If wis- 
dom is to be measured by the results it produces, our Fathers 
must be pronounced to have been in many respects wise : for 
they established institutions, civil, literary, and religious, which 
have secured to their posterity an unusual share of prosper- 
ity. 

For several years near the middle of the seventeenth cen- 
tury, the transactions in New-Hampshire, present little that is 
interesting. The times were still and peaceable ; times like 
those of which it has been said, that " though best to live in, 
they are the worst to write of," as affording to the historian 
the least variety. In 1652, Dover had so increased in popula- 
tion, as to be allowed to send two representatives to the Mas- 
sachusetts Assembly, each of the other towns sending but one. 



1658.] period ii.— 1641— 1679. 21 

For a series of years one of the two was Major Richard Wal- 
dron, now become the most conspicuous character in the 
Province, who was occasionally elected Speaker of the Mas- 
sachusetts Assembly. Portsmouth contained at this time less 
than sixty families, and exchanged the old appellation of 'Straw- 
berry Bank' for its present name. 

Not without uneasiness did the heirs of Mason in England 
notice the assumption of jurisdiction by Massachusetts over 
the settlement on the Pascataqua : but the civil wars then ra- 
ging in the mother country precluded all hope of immediate 
redress. They however, sent over an agent to observe the 
state of affairs. His arrival induced Massachusetts to order a 
survey of what they then claimed as their northern boundary. 
On this business, two Commissioners, attended by surveyors 
and Indian guides, went up the Merrimac in 1653, to the con- 
fluence of its two main branches. Some gentlemen of the 
vicinity have recently discovered on a rock in the Winnepise- 
ogee, an ancient inscription, unquestionably made at that time, 
containing the initials of the names of the Commissioners, and 
the name of John Endecott, at that time Governor of Massa- 
chusetts. To the rock itself has been given the appropriate 
appellation of " The Endecott Rock. 1 ' 

At Portsmouth there was some agitation in 1658 about 
witchcraft. Several individuals were accused of the crime ; 
stories were circulated of witches appearing in the shape of 
cats, and scorching persons by sudden flashes of fire; and one 
of the accused was bound over for trial. The intended prose- 
cution was however dropped, and the delusion was of far less 
extent and duration than a similar one which afterwards ori- 
ginated in Salem. One of the accused brought an action of 
slander against an accuser and obtained a judgment of dama- 
ges and costs of court. The occurrence is interesting as a 
specimen of the superstition unhappily prevalent at that day. 

It were to be wished that truth did not require us to lift the 
veil from another trait of the age worse than even superstition 
— the disposition to religious intolerance. Massachusetts began at 
this time a series of enactments against the Quakers. The 
first forbade their coming to that Colony on pain of imprison- 
ment, whipping, and transportation, and imposed a fine on the 
master of the vessel bringing them. The second subjected 
them, in case of a repetition of the offence, to the loss of their 
ears ; and in case of several repetitions, to have their tongue9 
bored through with a hot iron. This dreadful measure pro- 
ving inadequate to keep them away, a third law doomed them 
to death in case of a return after transportation. Under these 



22 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1658. 

inhuman enactments a few unhappy objects suffered death in 
in Massachusetts ; but none in NeAV-Hampshire. Three Qua- 
ker women having- come to the Pascataqua,were conducted from 
town to town by the respective Constables under a warrant 
from Major Waldron, till they arrived at Boston, to be thence 
transported out of the country. This extreme rigor brought 
upon Massachusetts the reprehensions of the dissenting minis- 
ters in London, and the censures of the English government — 
till these cruel acts were softened, and finally repealed. Some 
of the Quakers suffered with the calm spirit of martyrs : and 
though it be true that others displayed extreme imprudence 
and presumptuously rushed upon death, still these laws stand 
on the historic page as a dark stain on the characters of 
men, whose conduct in many other respects merits high en- 
comiums. 

An unusual occurrence marked the spring of 1658 : — a sud- 
den prevalence of cold, when the apple trees were in full blos- 
som, so insupportable that in a Hampton fishing boat then 
happening at sea, one man died ot the cold before the boat 
could make the land, another was so chilled that he died soon 
after, and a third lost his feet. This must have been in the 
latter part of May. There have been frequent instances of the 
concurrence of snow on the ground and blossoms on the trees, 
but no occurrence since of so intense a cold so late in the sea- 
son. 

The restoration of the royal government in England placed 
the supreme authority in the hands of men far less favorably 
disposed towards New-England than the Administration under 
the protectorate of Cromwell. Charles II., dissolute and un- 
principled, disliked extremely the strict religious principles of 
most of the people here. He resented as an invasion of his 
prerogative their establishment of a mint at Boston, where 
were coined three-pences, six-pences and shillings. Com- 
plaining of this one day to Sir Thomas Temple who had 
been in America, Sir Thomas took from his pocket a New- 
England shilling, and shewed the King the figure of the pine 
tree stamped upon it, who asked, What tree that was ? " The 
royal oak," was the reply — in allusion to the oak in which the 
King when once in imminent peril, had found concealment 
and safety. Pleased with the fancied allusion, he smiled and 
said, " They are a parcel of honest dogs." This however was 
but a gleam of good humor, and could not dispel from his 
mind the dark clouds of distrust. He was jealous of the spirit 
of liberty prevalent among the New-Englanders, and wished 
to see them reduced to a complete dependence on the crown. 



1(365.] period ii.— 1641— 1679. 23 

On the part of the Indians a friendly temper still continued 
to be manifested. An English gentleman intimately acquainted 
with them was invited to a great dance and feast, at which 
Passaconaway, now become very old, made his farewell ad- 
dress. Having told them that he had tried, but in vain, all the 
arts of sorcery to prevent the white people from gaining foot- 
hold in this country, he earnestly advised his own people to 
avoid quarrelling with them and to preserve a good under- 
standing; — assuring them that a war would prove disastrous 
to themselves. That the address of the dying Chief had a pow- 
erful influence is plain from the neutrality observed by the 
Penacooks in a subsequent war, which arrayed against the 
English almost all the other tribes of New-England. 

The well known disposition of the King encouraged Rob- 
ert Mason, the grandson and heir of the original grantee of 
New-Hampshire,to make an effort in 1660 to establish his claim 
to the territory on which his ancestor had bestowed so much 
expense. As stated in a preceding page, he had some years 
before this date sent over an agent, who found that Massachu- 
setts had given a construction to her Charter which made it 
cover the most of Mason's claim, as well as a large section of 
Maine ; and that nothing could be done to the purpose without 
the interposition of the King. Mason presented a petition 
complaining of Massachusetts for exercising jurisdiction over 
lands that had been granted to his ancestor ; and the attorney 
general, to whom it was referred, reported in favor of the jus- 
tice of his claim. Nothing further was immediately done in 
his behalf; but his petition, together with other complaints of 
the proceedings of the New-England Colonies, particularly 
Massachusetts, finally induced the King in 1664 to appoint 
Col. Nichols, Sir Robert Carr, George Carteret and Samuel 
Maverick, Esquires, his Commissioners to visit the Colonies, 
with power to examine and determine complaints and appeals 
of every kind. To this Commission the Colonists were strong- 
ly opposed, deeming it an infringment of their Charter privi- 
leges. With the exception of Col. Nichols, the Commmission- 
crs executed their office in a very offensive manner, reversing 
decisions of the courts, giving protection to criminals, and ad- 
mitting persons to the privileges of freemen and of church 
membership, contrary to the usages of the country. 

In June of the next year, these unwelcome visitants came to 
Portsmouth, where they called a public meeting and released 
the people from the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. They ap- 
pointed Magistrates of their own selection, and excited a small 
party disaffected to the existing order of things, to frame a 



24 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1669. 

petition to the King in the name of the several towns to be 
erected into a distinct Province. So overbearing was their de- 
portment that Sir Robert Carr threatened an old man with 
death merely for his forbidding a child to open a door to them. 
They soon left this State for Maine : no sooner were they gone 
than the people, firmly attached to the government of Massa- 
chusetts, refused to recognize the newly appointed Magistrates 
and avowed their determination to remain obedient to the Ma- 
gistrates and laws of that Colony. The towns of Portsmouth 
and Dover formally disavowed the petition for a separation which 
had been got up in their name. On the return of the Commis- 
sioners to England, they presented to the King a report of their 
doings, filled with bitter reproaches of the Colony of Massachu- 
setts. Amid many evils one benefit resulted from their visit — 
the erection of a Fort mounted with cannon for the defence of 
the harbor of Pascataqua, on Great Island, now New-Castle. — 
This was done by the express order of the King. 

An incident occurred in 1668 strikingly indicative of good 
sense on the part of the Indians, and not unworthy of a brief 
memorial. Two English traders having established a "trucking" 
house among the Penacooks, some of the Chiefs took a journey 
to Pascataqua to request that no spirituous liquors might be sold. 
Their motion was disregarded ; and not long after, a white man 
was killed by an Indian in a drunken carousal within the pres- 
ent limits of Concord. The Chiefs then renewed their entrea- 
ties to the traders to furnish no more rum, and even complained 
to the General Court, urging the plea that the Mohawks might 
come upon them when drunk and destroy them. Who can sup- 
press the wish that this early Temperance movement had been 
attended with better success ? The only apology to be offered 
for the traders is, that the public mind was then unenlightened 
on the subject, and that the traffic in ardent spirits was not then 
viewed as it now is by thousands, in the light of an immorality. 

The next year is the era of a memorable expedition underta- 
ken by the New-England Indians against their old enemies the 
Mohawks, in New- York. Chickatawbut, one of the chief Sa- 
chems of the Massachusetts tribe, was the leader of the enter- 
prise and collected a force of 600 men. From the enmity known 
to have long subsisted between the Mohawks and the New-Hamp- 
shire Indians, it is almost certain that some of the latter were 
engaged. Their English neighbors dissuaded them from the 
attempt as too distant and perilous; but they would not be ad- 
vised. Having arrived in the country of their enemies, they 
laid siege to one of their forts. Being distressed by sickness 
and want of provisions they at length concluded to return home ; 
the Mohawks pursued them on their retreat, and having formed 



1673.] period ii.— 1641— 1679. 25 

an ambush at a defile between two swamps, attacked them at 
great advantage and killed fifty of their chief warriors. Never 
again did the New-England Indians venture to attack this 
powerful tribe. 

That the early inhabitants of New-Hampshire,though few and 
comparatively poor, were not insensible of the importance of 
Education, is plain from the liberal contributions made by the 
towns, particularly by Portsmouth, then become the richest of 
the four, toward the erection of a new College edifice at Cam- 
bridge. Soon afterwards a Congregational church was formed 
in Portsmouth, in 1671, and the Rev. Mr. Moodey, who had for 
years preached in the place, was ordained as its Pastor, being 
the eighth settled Congregational minister in the State. Gov. 
Leverett and several other magistrates came from Massachu- 
setts to attend the ordination. Mr. Moodey was a man of con- 
siderable distinction, and afterwards acted a conspicuous part 
in resisting the encroachments of arbitrary power. The first 
settlers were now passing fast off the stage — Edward Hilton 
the founder of Dover, died this year at Exeter, having lived in 
the Colony almost half a century. 

About the year 1673 a settlement, the earliest in the County 
of Hillsborough, was begun at Dunstable which soon included 
thirty families. The grant was quite large, embracing either 
the whole or parts of several adjacent towns. For half a cen- 
tury afterwards the rest of the County remained a wilderness. 
In the course of a few years a church was gathered in thb 
town, of which the Rev. Thomas Weld was Pastor. 

We are now approaching the interesting period of the first 
general Indian war. With the exception of the short Pequot 
war in Connecticut, the Colonists had lived Avith the Indians 
half a century in profound peace. In the minds of the latter, 
suspicions and jealousies began to operate ; they saw the En- 
glish settlements extending on every side ; their own hunting 
grounds were narrowed ; and they began to be apprehensive 
they might be eventually dispossessed. Philip, Sachem of the 
Wampanoags, who resided at Mount Hope in Rhode-Island, 
an ambitious, shrewd, and bold man, was the most active insti- 
gator of the impending war. Though Belknap supposes he 
was hurried into it rather by the rash ardor of his young war- 
riors than by his own inclinations, yet the preponderance of 
historical evidence is certainly on the side of the latter opinion. 
Possessing great influence not only in his own tribe but among 
all the Indians in New-England, he resolved to free his coun- 
try from those whom he deemed intruders. He sent his run- 
ners in all directions, and had the address to engage in the 
C 



26 HISTORY OF :new-hampshire. [1675. 

enterprise most of the tribes in the region. The Penacooks 
on the Merrixnac were the only tribe who resisted his solicita- 
tions — their Sachem Wonolanset not having forgotten the 
charge of his father Passaconaway, now dead, to cultivate the 
friendship of the white men. The Ossipees in Strafford Coun- 
ty and the Pequawketts on the Saco river, both included in the 
uaine of Northern Indians, ardently engaged in the hostile 
confederacy. Of the Eastern Indians, as those of Maine were 
called, almost the whole body came into the plan with readi- 
ness ; and as truth compels us too add, not without serious 
provocation. As not long before, the wife of Squando a noted 
Pequawkett Sachem was passing on Saco river with her infant 
child in her frail bark canoe, some rude sailors who had heard 
that Indian children could swim as naturally as the young of 
brutes, met her and wantonly overset her canoe. The child 
sunk ; the mother instantly dived and recovered it ; but the 
child dying soon after, not only Squando, but the Indians in 
general ascribed its death to this brutal treatment. Their dis- 
contents were inflamed by other provocations received from the 
Eastern settlers, some of whom it must be acknowledged, were 
unprincipled men. Philip engaged as his allies most of the 
tribes in Massachusetts and Rhode-Island. An artful plan to 
enlist the Mohawks in the war proved not only abortive, but 
pernicious to himself. He had murdered, it has been said, 
some of this tribe and left their bodies unburied in the woods, 
imagining their brethren would ascribe the deed to the En- 
glish, and be provoked to join the confederacy against them: 
but one of the number who had been left for dead, unexpec- 
tedly recovered and disclosed to his countrymen the perfidy of 
Philip — a circumstance which made them his implacable ene- 
mies. 

For some time had the Colonists been apprehensive of hos- 
tile designs on the part of the Indians. Their suspicions were 
confirmed by the following occurrence : Sausaman, a christian 
Indian, whom Philip suspected of giving intelligence of his 
plots to the English, was murdered at his instigation and his 
body thrown into a pond. This act was considered as equiva- 
lent to a declaration of war. 

In June, 1675, open hostilities were commenced. Philip 
attacked Swanzey, Mass. and in a few hours killed several of 
the inhabitants. The flame of war spread with rapidity. — 
Forming themselves into small bands, the eastern and northern 
Indians robbed and killed many of the scattered inhabitants of 
Maine, and in September extended their incursions into New- 
Hampshire. Houses were burnt and persons slain in Somers- 



1675.] period n.— 1641— 1679. 27 

worth, Durham, and on the road between Exeter and Hampton. 
A party of savages attacked a house in Berwick, a town in 
Maine on the border of New-Hampshire, in which were fifteen 
women and children. A girl of eighteen discovering their 
approach, shut the door and stood -against it till the Indians cut 
it in pieces with their hatchets, and on entering knocked her 
down and left her for dead. While this was doing, the rest of 
the women and children fled ; and all arrived safely at another 
fortified house, excepting two children who being unable to 
get over a fence, were overtaken and slain. The adventurous 
girl who thus saved the lives of thirteen persons, recovered of 
her wounds: but we must regret that her name has not been 
preserved. 

Parties of men occasionally scoured the woods in quest of 
the enemy, but with no great success. In common with the 
rest of New-England, the towns of New-Hampshire were filled 
with alarm ; business was at a stand : the people, deserting tlicit 
own habitations, collected themselves together in the larger 
houses which they fortified as they could. They could neither 
go into the fields, nor even step out of doors but at the peril of 
life. The seventh of October was observed as a day of fasting 
and prayer. 

A few men having been killed at Berwick, the alarmed in- 
habitants sent an express to Maj. Waldron at Dover imploring 
succor. None however could be granted, as an attack was 
hourly expected there. Resolving to attempt the recovery of 
the bodies of the slain, Lieut. Pkisted, the principal military 
officer of Berwick, ventured out for that purpose with a party 
of twenty men; but was himself slain together with two of 
his sons.' These successes emboldened live savages to shew 
themselves on the east side of the river opposite to Portsmouth, 
in the attitude of menacing that town. They were however 
dispersed by the firing of some cannon ; and alight snow ren- 
dering it easy to follow their track, they were pursued, over- 
taken, and compelled to flee precipitately, leaving behind them 
their packs and plunder. 

In this crisis winter set in with uncommon severity and cov- 
ered the earth with a snow four feet deep. This circumstance, 
while it prevented a meditated expedition against the winter 
quarters of the Indians around Winnepiseogec and Ossipee 
lakes, produced a consequence still more important, the incli- 
nation of their minds to peace. Pinched with famine they 
came to Major Waldron with professions of sorrow for the 
past and promises of amity for the future, and a peace was ea- 
sily concluded with the northern and eastern Indians, which 



28 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1675. 

restored the captives and gave New-Hampshire a breathing 
time of several months. On the part of the savages the war 
had been conducted with not a few circumstances of barbarity, 
of which the following may serve as a specimen : in one of 
their incursions they killed an old man at Durham, cut off his 
head, and set it on a pole in derision. 

In the mean time Philip at the head of the southern tribes 
continued the war in Massachusetts, and burnt, plundered, and 
slew with a high hand. That Colony suffered severely and 
was now struggling for existence. It falls not within our plan 
to relate in detail the attack on Brookfield, where a providen- 
tial shower of rain extinguished the flames of a garrisoned 
house which had been set on fire by the savages, and saved se- 
venty persons from an awfnl death ; the conflagration of Deer- 
field, Mendon, Groton, Rehoboth, Providence, and Warwick ; 
the desolation of Lancaster, whence Mrs. Rowlandson, a lady 
who had been tenderly and delicately educated, was led cap- 
tive into the wilderness ; the defeat of Capt. Beers, accompa- 
nied with the fall of himself and twenty of his men, at North- 
field ; the surprise of Capt. Lothrop and his company while 
gathering grapes at Muddy Brook in Deerfield by some hund- 
reds of Indians, who slew him and more than seventy young 
men, the flower of the county of Essex ; the disastrous defeat of 
Captains Wadsworth and Brocklebank at Sudbury, who after 
fighting with great gallantly and killing 120 of the enemy, 
themselves fell with fifty of their men. These bloody rever- 
ses overspread the country with gloom ; it indeed seemed that 
unless a speedy check were given to the career of Philip, the 
whole region from the Pascataquato Long Island Sound would 
be overswept and left desolate. 

Threatened with utter extermination, the Colonists resolved 
on a desperate effort at self-preservation, and projected a plan, 
at once bold and perilous, which was happily crowned with 
success. Philip, after his career of victory, had fortified a 
camp in a great swamp in Rhode-Island, to which he repaired 
with a multitude of warriors, old men, women and children, 
for whiter quarters. A large force from Massachusetts, Ply- 
mouth, r and Connecticut attacked this fort in December, forced 
an entrance after a desperate conflict, kindled a fire which soon 
wrapped in flames 600 weekwams, and killed or burnt one thou- 
sand Indians. The terror-struck survivors fled into the woods, 
where, deprived of shelter and unfurnished with provisions 
they suffered great extremities. 

From this dreadful blow the southern Indians never recov- 
ered, and the events of the war in the next campaign, 1676, 



1676.] period ii.— 1623— 1641. 29 

were decidedly adverse to them. English scouting parties trav- 
ersed the woods in all directions, killing and captivating large 
numbers. A considerable body of the enemy on the west 
bank of Connecticut river, near Miller's Falls, were attacked by 
surprise : many were killed outright ; others ran into the river 
and were drowned ; others took to their canoes, but forgetting 
in their panic to seize the paddles, were borne down the falls 
and lost. In August, Capt. Church surprised Philip himself, 
the soul of the war, who being shot by an Indian friendly to 
the English, fell dead on his face in the mud and water. — 
Thus perished this terrific and celebrated savage, whose name, 
had he succeeded in his favorite enterprise, had gone down 
with applause to future generations of Indians as the Deliverer 
of their country. Broken and dispirited, the southern tribes 
after his fall ceased from hostilities, and Massachusetts rested 
from war. 

The joy occasioned by peace in southern New-England, 
was quickly damped by the renewal of hostilities on the part 
of the Eastern Indians against Maine and New Hampshire, 
They were excited to this step by some refugees from the wes- 
tern tribes, who, after the death of Philip, fled to the East 
rather than submit to the English. A bloody outrage having 
been committed by them at Portland, all the inhabitants to the 
east of that place abandoned their plantations. Freed from 
the terror of Philip, Massachusetts was now able to extend a 
helping hand to the Eastern settlements, and two companies 
of soldiers marched for this purpose from Boston. On their 
arrival at Dover in September, they found a large body of 
Penacooks, and other New-Hampshire Indians at Maj. Wal- 
dron's, with whom they had confirmed a peace. Among them, 
were many refugees from the Massachusetts tribes who were 
known to have been engaged in the war, as the confederates 
of the late Philip. By the stratagem of a pretended sham- 
fight, to which the Indians agreed for diversion, the whole 
body was surrounded ; and while the Penacooks were peace- 
ably dismissed, the southern Indians intermingled with them, 
to the number of two hundred-, were seized, a few executed, 
and the rest sold into slavery, some of whom were carried to 
Tangiers in Africa. Maj. Waldron's personal inclinations 
were averse to this act, but he felt himself compelled to it 
by the orders of the government. The morality of it is 
more than questionable : and the Penacooks, who had 
hitherto been peaceable, deeply resented it, as a breach of faith 
on the part of the Major. Some years afterwards they inflict- 
€* 



30 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1677. 

ed on him ample revenge, in accordance with their well known 
character of not forgetting an injury. 

After this seizure of the southern Indians at Dover, the two 
Massachusetts companies, reinforced by some of Waldron's 
men, went Eastward ; but on their approach the enemy fled 
into the woods, and they found the region deserted and deso- 
late. On their return from this fruitless march, they under- 
took a winter expedition over frozen mountains and deep 
snows, to Ossipee Lake, on whose western shore the Indians 
had constructed a strong fort; but found this region also deser- 
ted by the enemy. A third expedition into the country of the 
hostile Indians was undertaken in the depth of winter, and led 
by Waldron himself; but after a few unimportant skirmishes, 
and the erection of a fort on the Kennebec, the troops return- 
ed with little success. 

With the existence of an inveterate enmity between the 
Mohawks of New York and the New-England tribes, the rea- 
der has been made acquainted in a preceding page. The 
Penacooks had a great dread of these formidable enemies, 
with whom, according to an old tradition, their fathers had 
once fought a great battle in the vicinity of Concord, where 
they had a fortified position to which they might retire in case 
of attack. Imagining that an incursion of Mohawks might 
terrify the hostile Indians into submission, the Government of 
Massachusetts sent agents into their country, who found it easy 
to persuade them to take up arms against their eastern enemies. 
A party of them came from the west, in March, 1677, and 
made their appearance at Amoskeag. The son of Wonolan- 
set, who was hunting on the east side of the river, no sooner 
discovered them than he found by their language that they 
were Mohawks. Instantly he fled, and escaped uninjured 
amid a shower of bullets. They next appeared in the neigh- 
borhood of Dover, and killed several of a scouting party of 
friendly Indians whom Waldron had sent out to watch their 
motions. One of the victims was Blind Will, who being drag- 
ged away by the hair of his head and wounded, was left to 
perish on a neck of land in Dover, which has ever since borne 
his name. 

This incursion of the Mohawks not only failed of its object, 
but infused into the minds of the Penacooks, already soured 
by the seizure of their associates, a suspicion that the English 
were plotting their destruction. The people passed the ensu- 
ing summer in ceaseless anxiety, and a few individuals were 
killed by parties of the enemy continually hovering in the pre- 
cincts of the settlements. 



1678.] period ii.— 1641— 1679. 31 

Early in 1678, the hostile tribes discovered an inclination 
for peace. Messrs. Champernoon and Fryer, of Portsmouth, 
and Maj. Shapleigh of Maine, met their chiefs at Casco, now 
Portland, and negotiated a treaty. The captives were restor- 
ed, and a war which had raged in some one or other of the 
Colonies for three years, destroyed a multitude of their young 
men, and threatened their very existence, was happily termin- 
ated. Portsmouth suffered less than the other towns, its pe- 
ninsular situation contributing much to its protection. 

It is worthy of remark that while this war was raging in 
most parts of the country, the numerous Indians of Martha's 
Vineyard, who had been christianized by the benevolent la- 
bors of Mayhew, abstained from all participation in hostilities, 
and exhibited towards the English the most friendly disposi- 
tion. A striking instance of the influence and value of Chris- 
tian instruction. 

A circumstance related by Belknap and others, deserves no- 
tice, as illustrative of the spirit of the age. In the course of 
the war many people imagined they heard drums and guns in 
the air ; numerous reports were spread of the appearance of 
flaming swords and spears in the sky ; and eclipses were not 
seen without serious apprehension. The occurrence of some 
battles was affirmed to be known on the very day, in places so 
distant as to render a conveyance of the news by human effort 
impossible, and to infer some mysterious and supernatural 
communication. Instead of ridiculing these weaknesses of 
that age, it becomes us rather to be thankful that superior light, 
has freed the present age from such groundless apprehensions, 
and given us juster views of the providential government of 
God. 

While the people of New-Hampshire were defending their 
possessions at the price of blood, the heir of Mason in Eng- 
land made a second attempt to recover possession of the Prov- 
ince. A petition presented by him to the king, complaining 
of his wrongs, procured a royal order to Massachusetts to 
shew cause why she exercised jurisdiction over New-Hamp- 
shire. This order was brought to Boston by Edward Ran- 
dolph, a kinsman of Mason, in that day looked upon as the 
Evil Genius of New-England — an artful, ambitious man, deep- 
ly interested to establish the claim of his relative, and viru- 
lently opposed to the government and religious establishments 
of Massachusetts. He soon came into this province, publish- 
ing a letter from Mason to the inhabitants, in which he claimed 
the soil of New-Hampshire as his own property. The people 
were seriously alarmed, and called public meetings in which 



32 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1679. 

they protested against the claim, and agreed to petition the 
king for protection. To pay quit-rents for lands they had 
fairly bought of the Indians, cultivated for half a century, and 
defended at the risk of their lives *, was a submission they 
deemed unreasonable. Had Mason confined his claim to the 
unsettled part of his patent, quieting the inhabitants of the 
four towns in their possessions, they would have made no op- 
position. Randolph, on his return to England, misrepresented 
then sentiments, reporting to the King that the country was 
opposed to what he called the usurpation of Massachusetts, 
and wished for a separation ; at the same time employing all 
the means in his power, to inflame the prejudices of the King's 
ministers against that colony. 

Two agents from Massachusetts repaired to England to de- 
fend against the claim of Mason and the accusations of Ran- 
dolph. After a hearing of the parties before the king's judges, 
it was decided that the construction put by Massachusetts on 
her Charter, which would make it cover all the south-eastern 
section of New-Hampshire, was inadmissible ; and that the 
four towns of Portsmouth, Dover, Exeter and Hampton, were 
out of her jurisdiction. It was also decided that Mason had 
no right of jurisdiction over New-Hampshire ; of the justice 
of his claim to the right of soil, the judges gave no opinion, as 
the occupants, a party deeply concerned, were not before them. 

This decision paved the way for the separation from Mas- 
sachusetts, and the erection of New-Hampshire into a distinct 
Province. Several considerations influenced the king to de- 
termine on this step : his displeasure against Massachusetts — 
his willingness to favor the claim of Mason — and the necessi- 
ty of erecting a jurisdiction by which the conflicting claims 
to the right of soil might be decided, it being admitted that no 
Court in England had cognizance of the case. He first re- 
quired Mason to renounce all claim of rents for time past, and 
to bind himself to give to all occupants of land, provided he 
should establish his claim to the soil, a title forever on condition 
of the annual payment of one fortieth part of the yearly value 
of their possessions. Next, he issued a Royal Commission in 
1679, restraining the j urisdiction of Massachusetts and erect- 
ing New-Hampshire into a Royal Province. The government 
was committed to two distinct branches, a President and Coun- 
cil to be appointed by the Crown, and an Assembly of Rep- 
resentatives to be chosen by the people. John Cutts, an 
eminent and popular merchant of Portsmouth was appointed 
President of the Province, and Richard Martin, William 
Vaughan, and Thomas Daniel of Portsmouth, Richard Wal~ 



1679.] period ii.— 1641— 1679. 33 

dron of Dover, John Gilman of Exeter, and Christopher 
Hussey of Hampton, Counsellors. Thus was dissolved by an 
act of arbitrary power the union of Massachusetts and New- 
Hampshire, after it had subsisted thirty-eight years to mutual 
satisfaction. 

The Governors who presided over Massachusetts, and of 
course over New-Hampshire during the union, were Richard 
Bellingham, John Winthrop, John Endecott, Thomas Dudley, 
John Leverett, and Simon Bradstreet. A particular account 
of these Fathers of New-England belongs to the history of the 
former Province rather than that of the latter. Gov. Winthrop 
died in 1649, leaving a character eminent for candor, disinter- 
edness, and piety. Though he came to this country rich, such 
were his liberality and public spirit that he died comparatively 
poor. Gov. Bradstreet, who was elevated to the chair in 1679, 
outlived almost all the original settlers of New-England, his 
exact temperance being the means of prolonging his life till 
1697, when he died at the age of 94. Without pretensions to 
splendid or showy talents, his integrity, prudence, and christian 
deportment procured him the esteem and veneration of all 
classes of men, 



PERIOD III 



from the erection of new-hampshire into a distinct 
province in 1679, to the close of king william's war 
in 1698. 

Edward Randolph, a messenger whose arrival was thought 
to bode no good, brought the commission for the new govern- 
ment to Portsmouth on the 1st of Jan. 1680. It was received 
with regret not only by the people, but even by the gentlemen 
appointed to office, who were sincerely attached to the union 
with Massachusetts and reluctant to a separation. The only 
consideration that induced them to accept their offices, was the 
apprehension that their refusal would be followed by the ap- 
pointment of others unfriendly to the interests of the people. 
Submitting to the necessity of the change, they published their 
commission, took their oaths of office, and appointed a Fast to 
implore the blessing of Heaven on the rulers, and "the con- 
tinuance of their pretious and pleasant things." 

The King's Commission was the basis of the new govern- 
ment and the only substitute for a definite Constitution. As 
it authorized the six Counsellors named in it to add three others 
to their number, they elected Elias Stileman, Samuel Dalton, 
and Job Clements. Agreeably to a clause which empowered 
the President to nominate a Deputy to preside in case of his 
absence or death, he appointed Major Waldron to this office. 
A change which denied to the people and gave to the King 
the appointment of President, Counsellors, and other principal 
governmental officers, couldnot but be disrelished : nor was this 
the only objection — it was viewed as the entering wedge of an 
invasion of their property. 

In March the first Legislature of New-Hampshire, consisting 
of a President and Council of nine, and an Assembly of Rep- 
resentatives of eleven members, met in Portsmouth* and the 
session was opened with prayer and an Election sermon by 
the Rev. Mr. Moodey. Their first measure was to prepare an 
affectionate address to Massachusetts, expressive of their grat- 
itude and attachment to that Province and their regret at the 



1680.] period in.— 1G79— 1698. 35 

separation. They held four sessions in the course of the year, 
in which they framed a code of laws and established [nferior 
Courts of Judicature. The President and Council, either with 
or without a Jury at the option of the parties, constituted the 
highest Judicial tribunal, with an allowance however in cer- 
tain cases of an appeal to the King. The Militia was organized 
into six companies, of which Major Waldron was Commander 
in Chief. Of persons admitted to the privilege of voting, Ports- 
mouth had at this period seventy-one, Dover sixty-one, Hamp- 
ton fifty-seven, and Exeter twenty. 

Robert Mason, the claimant of the Province, came over from 
England at the close of the year with a writ from the King 
commanding the President and Council to admit him to a seat 
in their body. Aware of his designs to compel them to submit 
to his claim as Lord Proprietor, the people prepared to resist 
them and guarded their rights with unceasing vigilance. He 
demanded rents of several persons ; urged the people to take 
leases from him ; and on their refusal forbade them to cut fire- 
wood and timber. Irritated by their opposition he openly 
threatened to sell their houses and lands for rents ; a menace 
which produced an application to the President and Coun- 
cil for protection. As their feelings harmonized with those of 
the people, they willingly interposed and forbade Mason to 
proceed. On this interference he was so exasperated as 
to publish a summons to the President and some of the Coun- 
cil to appear before the King within three months, to make 
answer to charges he intended to bring against them. Resent- 
ing this contempt of their authority, they issued a warrant for 
his apprehension ; but he evaded it and returned to England. 

Randolph had obtained from England the appointment of 
Surveyor and Collector of the Customs for the whole of New- 
England, and made Walter Barefoot, a rash and reckless man, 
his deputy at Portsmouth. The President and Council, pro- 
ceeding on the ground that the royal authority could be exer- 
cised here only through the medium of their Commission, re- 
fused to recognize Barefoot's authority, and fined him for an 
attempt to execute an office not derived from the constituted 
authorities of the Province. 

The population of New-Hampshire at this period did not 
exceed 4000. Many of the people had been impoverished by 
the Indian war, having had their buildings burned, their cattle 
killed, and their business interrupted. The soil was not suffi- 
ciently cultivated to furnish a full supply of provisions. Mon- 
ey was scarce and taxes were usually paid in lumber or pro- 
duce. Whatever of foreign commerce there was, centered at 



36 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1682. 

Portsmouth ; and consisted in the exportation offish and lum- 
ber, and the importation of such commodities from abroad as 
the exports were able to command. 

President Cutts administered the government but little more 
than a year, being removed by death in April, 1681. He was 
one of the founders of the church in Portsmouth and highly 
estimable for integrity and benevolence. As he lived beloved, 
he died generally lamented. His body was buried in a se- 
questered spot in his orchard, which his descendants after- 
wards inclosed as a family cemetery, and which is now sur- 
rounded by buildings. Having in the commencement of his 
administration nominated Major Waldron as his Deputy, this 
veteran magistrate succeeded him in the Chair and remained 
at the head of the government almost two years, till he was 
superseded by the arrival of Cranfield. 

Convinced that the men then in office could never be brought 
to favor his designs, Mason felt it necesshry to procure the ap- 
pointment of a Governor more subservient to his interests. — 
By an offer to the King, whose profuseness made him neces- 
sitous and greedy, of one fifth of the rents he might recover, 
he procured the appointment of Edward Cranfield, Esq. as 
Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief of the Pro- 
vince ; and by mortgaging the residue of his claims as security 
for the payment of an adequate salary, he induced him to ac- 
cept. Cranfield came here in October, 1682, and published 
his commission. A worse Governor, with the exception of 
Andros, New-Hampshire never had. He was a man of arbi- 
trary principles and an overbearing deportment ; needy and ra- 
pacious, he made no secret that his object in this quarter was 
the betterment of his fortune. His principles — his necessities 
— his devotion to the Masonian claim — all conspired to render 
him odious to the people. Mason, who returned to the Pro- 
vince about this time, and six others of the former Council were 
reappointed to then- offices, and Barefoot and Chamberlain 
were added to the number. Cranfield soon exhibited a speci- 
men of his disposition by suspending Waldron and Martyn, two 
of the popular leaders, from their seats at the Council board, 
and by removing Capt. Stileman from the command of the 
fort, a station he had long holden with general approbation. — 
The Assembly meeting in November, the Governor thought 
it politic to make some show of conciliation by restoring the 
suspended Counsellors to their seats, on the pretence that he 
had examined the allegations against them and found them in- 
sufficient. With the hope of detaching him from the Maso- 
nian interest, the Assembly made him a grant of £250, which 



1683.] period in.— 1G79— 1698. 37 

he gladly accepted : but on their refusal to pass a bill to his 
liking for the support of government, he hastily dissolved them. 
This rash measure enkindled the resentments of the people and 
produced some riotous proceedings at Exeter and Hampton, 
on account of which one of the ringleaders was arrested and 
sent to England for trial. 

Notwithstanding these indications of resistance the Gover- 
nor continued to carry matters with an high hand. He called 
on the people by Proclamation to take leases from Mason with- 
in one month, and on their refusal talked of seizing their es- 
tates and compelling them to submit to the payment of quit 
rents, by bringing a frigate into the harbor and quartering sol- 
diers in the houses. Waldron, Martyn, Gilman, and other op- 
ponents of the proprietary claim, he suspended from their seats 
in the Council, filling the vacancies with men of his own views. 
To prepare the way for a favorable decision of Mason's cause, 
he new-modelled the Courts, making Barefoot, Judge ; Mason 
himself, Chancellor ; Randolph, Attorney General ; and Sher- 
lock, Sheriff. A few persons were either awed or flattered to 
take leases of their farms from the claimant, and these served 
for deputy Sheriffs, Jurors, and Witnesses. In the next place 
he caused actions of ejectment to be brought against Wal- 
dron and other principal land holders, who made .no defence, 
alleging that the jurors were interested. As might have been 
expected from Courts so constituted, the verdicts were in favor 
of Mason : but as he could neither dispossess the occupants nor 
fiud purchasers, the judgments hi his favor were perfectly in- 
operative. Irritated by these acts the people sent Nathaniel 
Weare of Hampton to England, to complain on their behalf to 
the King and solicit Cranfield's reeal. He privately repaired 
to Boston, and thence to London. Major Vaughan of Forts- 
mouth was active in promoting his mission to the King, and 
accompanied him to Boston, for which on his return he was 
arrested by the Governor's order, and detained in prison sev- 
eral months. 

The government now became extremely oppressive and vex- 
atious, interfering both with the rights of conscience and the 
long established usages of the people. An order was issued 
commanding the ministers'to admit all persons of suitable age, 
not scandalous or vicious, to the Lord's supper, and their chil- 
dren to baptism ; and to administer the sacrament to those who 
might so prefer it, "according to the liturgy of the Church of 
England." The overseers of the several towns were forbid- 
den to call town meetings on public business without leave 
first obtained. 

D 



>X HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1684, 

His pecuniary necessities compelled Cranfield early in 1684 
to convene an Assembly at New-Castle, the place of his resi- 
Lence, of whom under pretext of a foreign war, he demanded 
supplies for the repair of the Fort, and for other purposes. — 
Having no confidence in him, they refused compliance, and 
he angrily dissolved them. An order from England obliged 
him to call another in May, which being as unmanageable as 
the former, he immediately dissolved. A third was convened 
in July for the purpose of passing acts for the suppression of 
piracy, the American seas being then infested with bueanicrs. 
They passed the necessary acts ; but no money could the 
Governor obtain. Disappointed in his mercenary plans, he 
ventured on a bold usurpation of power. Having found an 
opportunity by the suspension of some of the members and 
the death of others, to model the Council to his own mind, he 
at length brought that body to concur with him in continuing 
nixes formerly imposed, by their sole authority, without the 
concurrence of the Representatives. Not only was this meas- 
ure unauthorised by his Commission, but it was in dehance of 
a Provincial law which declared that " no act, imposition, law,. 
or ordinance should be made or imposed, but such as should 
be made by the Assembly and approved by the President and 
Council." So flagrant an assumption of power over a people 
fond of liberty and jealous of their rights, could not fail to 
awaken a spirit of determined resistance, and the Constables 
returned the taxbills with information that the people would 
not pay them. The bills were then committed to the Provost, 
who seized the goods of some, and imprisoned others ; but at 
Exeter and Hampton he was forcibly resisted, being beaten, 
and at the latter place deprived of his sword. A troop of horse- 
men being ordered out to enforce the collection, not a trooper 
appeared ; and Cranfield was obliged to yield the point. 

A singular instance of his arbitrary disposition is found in his 
persecution of the Rev. Mr. Moodey. This gentleman, as a 
strenuous advocate of the popular cause, was obnoxious to the 
Governor. A member of his church fell under strong suspi- 
cion of perjury ; he thought it his duty to institute an enquiry 
into the affair ; the Governor, whom the offender had found 
means to interest in his favor, forbade the proceeding ; but Mr. 
Moodey was not to be deterred from the maintenance of chris- 
tian discipline in his church. Incensed at his proceeding, 
Cranfield sent him a written order to administer to himself, 
Mason, and one other, on the next Sabbath, the Lord's supper 
according to the ritual of the Church of England. Moodey 
refused : and being prosecuted, plead in defence that he was 



1685.] period in.— 1679— 1698. 

not Episcopally ordained and therefore not qualified to admin- 
ister the ordinance according to the rites of the English Church: 

that he did not receive his maintenance as a minister of thai. 
Church; and that the English laws under which the demand 
was made, were not intended to be binding hi this country on 
persons not of the Episcopal denomination. This plea n< t 
withstanding, he was sentenced to be deprived of Ids benefice 
and suffer six months close imprisonment. After amojifine? 
ment of half this period he obtained a release, but under a 
strict charge to preach no more in the Province. He went to 
Boston, where; he found sympathy, and was employed to sup- 
ply a pulpit in that place. After some years he returned to 
Portsmouth, resumed the Pastoral charge of his flock, and 
•continued with themin usefulness and peace. 

Not long after Moodey's trial, Cranfield transmitted to Hamp- 
ton a threat of making a similar demand on the Rev. Mr. ( Jot- 
ton, who, to evade a prosecution, retired to Boston. The 
Governor and his chief adviser, Randolph, were virulently op- 
posed to the Congregational churches, and not unfrequently 
threw out hints of depriving the people of the control of their 
meeting-houses and compelling them to contribute to the sup- 
port of Episcopal ministers. Threats like these had no other 
effect than to excite a determined opposition. 

At this period the settlements on the Connecticut river were 
extended into Hinsdale, on the south border of the County of 
Cheshire. This town was then considered as a part of North- 
field in Massachusetts, and long remained under the jurisdic- 
tion of that Province. With this single exception, the western 
part of New-Hampshire exhibited an unbroken forest for al- 
most half a century afterwards. 

Mr. Weare, whom the people had sent to England as their 
agent, presented several charges against Cranfield, whieh, after 
an hearing before the Lords of Trade, occasioned a report cen- 
suring him in certain points. The King accepted the report 
— but without any further mark of disapprobation granted a 
previous request of the Governor for leave of absence from 
the Province, on which he embarked for Jamaica in 1685. — 
New-Hampshire had in his eye no charms when he found it 
would not yield him the golden harvest lie had expected to 
reap ; and the people rejoiced in being rid of a man whose 
violent conduct had excited deep and general indignation. — 
It is said however by Belknap, that on reflection he became 
sensible of his misconduct, and while he was afterwards Col- 
lector of the Customs at one of the West India Islands, made 



•JO HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1686. 

it a point to treat shipmasters from the Pascataqna with marked 
attention. 

On Cranneld's departure Walter Barefoot, whom he"" had 
nominated as Deputy Governor, succeeded to the Chair and 
officiated as Chief Magistrate about a year. Not only was he 
a man of rash and violent temper, but on other accounts 
justly odious to the people. Under his countenance and 
protection, Mason renewed his attempts to enforce the execu- 
tion of the judgments he had obtained against the principal 
land-holders ; but in attempting to take possession of their es 
tates the officers were forcibly resisted, and he found himself 
compelled to desist. In the course of the season the Penaco^ ks 
and Ossipees, alarmed with apprehensions of being attacked 
by the Mohawks, gathered their corn early and deserted their 
habitations. Jealous that they were preparing for war, the 
government sent to demand the reasons of this movement. — 
The Indians assigned the true reason, and disclaimed any hos- 
tile design ; entering into an engagement not to remove again 
from the neighborhood of the English without giving due no- 
tice of their intention. 

In May, 1686, anew form of government went into operation, 
Charles II., now dead, had long wished to place the New- 
England Colonies under an administration that should render 
them completely subject to his control, and had procured three 
years prior to this date, a judicial sentence declaring the for- 
feiture of the original Charter of Massachusetts. Death ter- 
minated his strides toward despotic power; but his suc- 
cessor, the arbitrary James II. pursuing the same object, ap- 
pointed JosephDudley to be President of Massachusetts,Rhode- 
Island, New-Hampshire, and Maine. He retained his office 
but a few months, in which nothing memorable transpired, 
and was superceded at the close of the year by the arrival at 
Boston of Sir Edmund Anclros with a Commission from the 
king of almost unlimited powers, constituting him Governor 
in chief over every part of New-England. With the advice 
of his Council, he was empowered to make laws, impose taxes, 
and grant lands on terms to be approved by the king. New- 
Hampshire came of course under his jurisdiction,and furnished 
two members of his council, Mason and John Hincks. 

Andros began his course with fair professions, but soon be- 
gan to disclose his selfish and tyrannical designs of enriching 
himself and his frends by illegal and oppressive exactions. 
Pretending that the forfeiture of the Charter of Massachusetts 
had annulled land titles, and that Indian deeds were no better 
than the "scratch of a bear's paw," he compelled land-hold- 



1G88.] period in.— 1G79— 1698. 41 

ors in that Province to obtain new titles to estates they had 
enjoyed half a century, and pay exorbitant fees for the pa- 
tents. Taxes were imposed at his pleasure, the press Mas re- 
strained, and liberty of conscience infringed. Town meetings 
were disallowed with the exception of one in each year, and 
without a permit no person might leave the country: the ob- 
ject of these restrictions being to prevent the assembling of the 
people for consultation on their grievances, or the departure 
of Agents to England to cany complaints to the king. But 
in spite of his precautions the Rev. Dr. Mather of Boston, at 
the desire of the oppressed inhabitants, effected a passage to 
London in 1G87 and laid the complaints of the country before 
the throne. The times were indeed ill. From the misrule of 
Andros New-Hampshire suffered far less than Massachusetts: 
still, she had been drinking the cup of oppression for several 
years, and had been under a government of mew rather than 
of laws. Cranfield, Barefoot, and Andros, who, with the ex- 
ception of the short administration of Dudley, had been in 
succession at the head of government eight years — and Ran- 
dolph, who was a prominent man under each of these admin- 
istrations, were all the minions of arbitrary power. 

Even Mason, though at first a warm friend to the Governor, 
did not escape the effects of his rapacity. Major William 
Vaughan of Portsmouth, one of the richest men in the Prov- 
ince, who had lost his case in an action of ejectment brought 
against him by Mason in Cranfield's court, had ventured to 
appeal to the king — but without success ; after a hearing in 
England the verdict against him was confirmed. Bringing 
with him this decision in his favor, Mason returned to this 
country full of hope that he was on the point of succeeding in 
establishing his claim as Proprietor of New-Hampshire. But 
his views were thwarted in a manner quite unexpected. An- 
dros and other governmental agents looked with an envious 
eye on his large share of lands, and with the hope of enrich- 
ing themselves by granting the lands to others, contrived vari- 
ous expedients to defeat his designs. In the midst of the 
controversy, his death happened suddenly on a journey to Al- 
bany, and his claims passed into the hands of John and Rob- 
ert, his sons and heirs. 

The calamities of the country were now aggravated by an 
other war with the Indians, aided by the Canadian French. 
It commenced in 1G88, continued with one or two short inter- 
missions for ten years, and was distinguished by the name of 
king William's war. Andros in the spring of the year went 
in the Rose Frigate and plundered the house of the Baron de 
D* 



42 HISTORY OF -NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1689. 

St. Castine, a Frenchman who carried on a large trade with 
the Indians at Penobscot. The Baron, a gentleman of an- 
cient family, who had left the vine-covered hills, and the green 
vallies of France for an abode in the wilds of Maine, had ac- 
quired great influence o^er them, having conformed to their 
customs and married the daughter of Madokewando their 
Sachem ; and in resentment of the attack by Andros he ex- 
cited them to attack the English. The Indians alledged griev- 
ances of their own. They complained that the cattle of the 
English devoured their corn — that the fisheries of Saco river 
were obstructed by seines — that encroachments were made on 
their lands — that they were cheated in trade. They began 
reprisals in Maine, killing cattle and in a few instances, persons. 
Andros led a body of troops into this quarter; but as the Iti- 
dians retired into the wilderness, his attempt to subdue them 
was a total failure. 

After the Colonies had endured the oppressions of this ra- 
pacious plunderer more than two years, a rumor reached 
Uoston of that great revolution in England, which expelled 
the arbitrary James II. and raised to the throne William III., 
a prince possessed of views far more liberal. Affecting to 
discredit the intelligence, the Governor imprisoned the man 
who brought it, on the charge of spreading a seditious rumor; 
but the people were animated with hope and joy. On the 
whisper of an intended massacre by his guards, the determin- 
ation of the Bostonians was instantly taken. Aided by 
crowds who flocked in from the country, they rose in arms on 
the 18th of April, 1689, and imprisoned Andros and some of 
his adherents, who were soon sent to England for trial ; thus 
ridding New-England of a Governor whose name stands at 
the head of the black list of her oppressors. 

The news of this important Colonial revolution was received 
in New-Hampshire with joy, but the event left the Province 
destitute of a regular government. All the towns with the ex- 
ception of Hampton chose delegates to meet in Convention, 
for consultation on the measures proper for the crisis. At their 
first session they came to no conclusion ; but at a subsequent 
session agreed to return under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. 
Petitions to this effect signed by more than 300 persons were 
presented to the Legislature of that Province, who at once 
granted the request. Only as a temporary expedient did the 
people resort to this second union with Massachusetts, which 
subsisted no longer than through the brief space from 1690 to 
1692 ; during which they were represented in her Legislature 
and governed by her laws. 



1689.] period ni. — 1679 — 1698. 43 

la resuming the narration of Indian hostilities we must 
return to the year 1689. Souk; efforts were made, but made 
in vain, to conciliate the savages by sending them presents 
and invitations to conclude a treaty of peace. Stimulated with 
the thirst of taking vengeance on Major Waldron for his seizure 
of their brethren thirteen years before ;— an event remembered 
by them with deep though silent resentment — they concerted 
an attack on Dover. Even the Penacooks, who had never 
before shed English blood, joined with the Ossipees and Pe- 
quavvkets intheenterprize, which was conducted by Hodgkins 
the Penacook sachem, grandson of Passaconaway. There 
were several fortified houses in Dover to which the inhabitants 
resorted at night for safety. Approaching the place with pro- 
fessions of peace, the Indians sent two of their squaws to 
each house to ask lodgings for the night, with the intention of 
opening the doors after the inmates were asleep, and giving 
the signal of a whistle to the savages to rush in. The strata- 
gem succeeded; the long continued peace had lulled the 
Major's suspicions asleep. Some of his neighbors had indeed 
apprehended danger, but he told them to go and plant their 
pumpkins and he would tell them "when the Indians would 
break out." The squaws were admitted into four of the houses, 
of which Major Waldron's was one. Mesandowit, a chief, he 
also admitted to lodge in his house, who while at supper asked 
him, " What would you do, brother Waldron, if the strange 
Indians should come? " The old soldier rejoined that he 
could assemble an hundred men by lilting up his finger. 

After the family had retired in fancied security and all was 
still, the gate was opened and the signal given. In rushed the 
savages, thirsting for blood. Major Waldron, aroused by the 
noise from his sleep, seized his sword, and though bowed 
down with the weight of eighty years, drove the assailants out 
of his apartment through two or three doors, when one^ of 
them getting behind him stunned him with the blow of a 
hatchet. Placing him in his great chair on a large table they 
deridindy asked him, " Who shall judge Indians now ? " They 
cut off his nose and ears and gashed his breast with knives, 
saving one after another, " I cross out my account." At length 
he fainted from loss of blood, and as he was falling from his 
seat they despatched him with a sword. Thus fell this gallant 
man, venerable for years and public services, who had sus- 
tained the highest civil offices and long been a pillar of the 
Province. 

Two other houses were surprised in a similar manner, in 
one of which several of the inmates were killed. The owner 



44 ni STORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1689. 

of the other, a Mr. Coffin, not being obnoxious to them, 
they spared him and his family. They found in his house a 
bag of money which they made him throw by handfulls on 
the floor, and amused themselves in scrambling for it. A son of 
Mr. Coffin owned a fortified house, into which he had denied 
admittance to the squaws in the preceding evening. The ene 
my required him to surrender, which he refused. They then 
brought forward his father, threatening to kill him before his 
eyes ; on which, to save the father's life the son yielded to 
their demand. The occupants of another house were alarmed 
by the barking of a dog in season to secure the gate, just as the 
savages were about to rush in. While they were busy in plun- 
dering the captured garrisons, the families of both the Coffin's 
made their escape. 

Twenty T three persons fell victims in this bloody tragedy, 
and twenty-nine were made prisoners. The enemy effected a 
speedy retreat, carrying their prisoners to Canada where they 
sold them to the French : — the first English prisoners ever car- 
ried to that country. Being then at war with the English., the 
French opened a market for the purchase of scalps and pris- 
oners, with a view to encourage the Indians to lay waste the 
New-England settlements. 

Amid these barbarities, an instance of Indian gratitude de- 
serves remembrance. At the time of the seizure at Dover in 
1676, Elizabeth Heard concealed a young Indian in her house 
and aided him to escape. For this act of kindness she now 
received an ample requital. Coming up the river from Ports- 
mouth in a boat with her children and some others, on the 
very night of the assault, she was alarmed by a strange uproar 
and made directly for Waldron's where she hoped to find 
safety. In so doing she unhappily threw herself into the 
hands of the enemy, who had at that moment possession of 
the house. They not only spared her life, but permitted her 
to escape without molestation. The Indian whom she had 
formerly befriended was one of the party ; he recognized his 
benefactress, and his influence with the others procured her 
this important favor. 

A multiplicity of affecting incidents arc connected with the 
massacre just related. The Rev. Mr. Emerson of Berwick 
was in Dover, on the day preceding the attack, and was urged 
to pass the night under the hospitable roof of Maj. Waldron. 
A kind Providence disposed him to decline the invitation and 
thus preserved him from death! Mather gives an account of 
►Sarah Gerrish, an interesting and beautiful little girl seven 
years old, a grand-daughter of Major Waldron's. Being 



1689.] period in.— 1G79— 1G98. 45 

in his house on that fatal night, she fell into the hands of the 
Indians and was taken to Canada. Her sufferings were ex- 
treme. In her protracted journey in gs, they once began their 
march in the morning leaving her behind, lust asleep; on 
awaking and finding herself alone in a hideous wilderness, she 
was frightened at the thought of being torn by wild beasts, 
ran after the Indians crying, and by following their track on 
the snow at length overtook them. At another time her master 
terrified her by making her stand against a tree, while he was 
loading his gun as if preparing to shoot her. Once she was 
rudely pushed into a river by an Indian woman and narrowly 
escaped drowning. Often were her feelings tortured by inti- 
mations from the young Indians that she was to he burnt to 
death. One evening a great lire was kindled and her master 
told her she was to be roasted alive ; on which she burst into 
tears, and hanging upon the savage importunately begged him 
to save her from the fire. Having arrived in Canada she was 
purchased by a French lady, and after some time redeemed 
and restored to her friends. Another circumstance attending 
this tragical affair must not be forgotten. The government of 
Massachusetts had received some notice of the designs of the 
Indians against Waldron, and forwarded a letter to apprise 
him of his danger : but by some unavoidable delay of the 
bearer at the ferry over the Merrimac, the message did not 
arrive till after the mischief had been perpetrated. 

Aroused by the severe blow struck by the enemy at Dover, 
the government sent expeditions to Penacook, (now Concord) 
andWinnepiseogee, to attack them in their own quarters; but as 
they lied into the recesses of the wilderness the troops could 
do little more than destroy their corn. In August, several 
companies from Massachusetts marched through this Province 
to protect the settlements in Maine. After their departure, a 
body of Indians hovering in the precincts of Durham, discov- 
ered a party of eighteen men going from a garrisoned house 
in the morning to'their work in the field. They intercepted 
their retreat, and with the exception of one man killed them 
all. Afterwards they attacked the house, which was gallantly 
defended by a few women and two boys, who wounded several 
of the assailants, and refused to surrender till they had received 
a promise of quarter. The savages inhumanly violated the 
promise by killing some of the children, one of whom they 
transfixed with a sharp stake in the presence of the agonized 
mother ! 

Numerous repetitions of these outrages on humanity occur- 
red in 1690. The French Governor of Canada sent out three 



4G HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1690. 

expeditions against the English settlements, one of which fell 
on Berwick in Maine and killed or captivated eighty persons. 
A body of the surrounding inhabitants pursued and skirmished 
with the foe, but could not recover the captives. Robert Rogers, 
one of the prisoners, a corpulent man unable to carry the load 
laid on him, threw it down and fled into the woods. He was 
overtaken, bound to a tree, and after a little reprieve for prayer 
and taking leave of his friends, was tortured to death with' all 
the torments which diabolical ingenuity could think of — the 
Indians drowning his dying groans with their dreadful yells. 

The destruction of Berwick animated the savages to other 
acts of devastation. A party under the noted Chief Hoophood 
fell on Newington, killing and captivating twenty persons. — 
About midsummer another band killed eight men who were 
mowing in a field near Lamprey river, and the next day made 
an unsuccessful attack on Hilton's garrison in Exeter. Two 
ranging companies under Captains Floyd and Wiswall fell in 
witii their track and followed it to Wheelright's pond in Lee, 
where they came upon the enemy. The encounter was long 
and sanguinary ; Wiswall and fourteen others fell. The sur- 
vivors under Floyd retreated, leaving several men on the bloody 
field wounded. Next morning their friends found them alive, 
the Indians having hastily retreated, probably not without loss. 
The latter were not however disabled from prosecuting their 
destructive enterprises, for in the course of a few days more 
they killed between Lamprey river and Arnesbury, not less, 
according to the statement of Belknap, than forty persons. 

Aware that the French influence in Canada was the chief 
source of their miseries, the New-Englanders formed a plan 
for the conquest of that country. A force of 2000 men, com- 
manded by Sir William Phipps, sailed from Boston for Que- 
bec Having been retarded by unavoidable hindrances, they 
did not arrive there till October ; winter was at hand ; the 
troops became sickly and dispirited, and it was concluded to 
abandon the enterprize. Several ships were lost on the passage 
home : one was stranded on the desolate island of Anticosti, 
where the crew erected a few huts and lived through the win- 
ter on less than quarter allowance. More than thirty out of 
sixty died of cold and want ; yet these unfortunate men main- 
tained a tolerable order, and observed the Sabbath and other 
occasional days of prayer. One of their number, an unfeel- 
ing villain who was repeatedly detected in breaking open their 
storehouse, and devouring like a glutton those scanty supplies 
on the due distribution of which their very existence depen- 
dec^ they felt authorized by the law of self-preservation to put 



1602.] teriod in.— 1(379— 1(398. 47 

to death. In the spring, live of the survivors ventured to sea 
in a crazy little boat, and after innumerable escapes from floa- 
ting ice-banks, arrived at Cape Ann, having made a passage of 
1000 miles. By their friend:- they were received as alive from 
the dead, and a vessel was immediately sent to Anticosti to 
bring home the other survivors. This expedition involved the 
people in debt, and the failure overspread this Province in 
common with the rest of New-England with a deep gloom. 

In this critical state of affairs a kind Providence disposed 
the Indians to propose a cessation of hostilities through the 
winter, and justice requires the acknowledgement that they ob- 
served the agreement with good faith. After the expiration of 
the truce, they resumed the tomahawk in the summer of 1691. 
In September a party of them came from the eastward in canoes 
to Rye, and killed or carried into captivity twenty-one of the 
inhabitants. 

The year 1692 is crowded with important events. In the 
depth of winter, New-Hampshire was thrown into alarm by 
the destruction of York in Maine, only a few miles from the 
Provincial line, where the savages butchered fifty persons, 
and took seventy-three prisoners. Among the slain was the 
Rev. Mr. Dummer, the minister of the place, an exemplary 
and excellent man, who was shot as he was mounting his 
horse to escape, and fell dead on his faee. This disaster con- 
tributed to the preservation of the Pascataqua settlements, by 
arousing the people to unceasing vigilance. A party from 
Dover fell in with a scouting band of Indians, and killed or 
wounded most of them — a check which kept them for a time 
at a more respectful distance. 

Another important revolution in the government took place 
this year. Samuel Allen, merchant of London, who had pre- 
viously purchased of Mason's heirs, their claim to the soil of 
New-Hampshire, obtained from the King the appointment of 
Governor ; and for his son in-law, John Usher of Boston, the 
appointment of Lieutenant Governor of the Province. As 
A'llen did not himself visit this country for a considerable 
period afterwards, Usher entered upon the government and 
administered it for some years. With great reluctance the 
people submitted to the change, and saw the dissolution of 
their second, but brief union with Massachusetts, with undis- 
sembled regret. The transfer of the Proprietary claim from 
Mason to Allen, they regarded as merely a change of names, 
and anticipated a repetition of former vexations under a new 
claimant. Lieut. Governor Usher resided at Boston, but fre- 
quently journied into this Province' to meet his Council and 



HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1692. 

attend the Sessions of the Legislature. He was frank, gen- 
erous, and not regardless of the interests of the people : but 
at the same time, fond of parade and somewhat imperious in 
his deportment. Had there been no other distasteful circum- 
stance, his connection with Allen, to whose interest he was of 
course attached, was enough to render him unacceptable to 
the people, determined as they were not to hold their estates 
under a proprietary lease subject to an annual rent. About 
the same time a new form of government under the second 
Charter, wont into operation in Massachusetts : and that re- 
markable child of fortune — Sir William Phipps — one of the 
younger sons of an obscure family of twenty-six children, 
born and brought up on the banks of the Kennebec — a me- 
chanic, uneducated, and unable to read till he was twenty-two 
years old — who by his successful enterprise of discovering 
and fishing up from the bottom of the sea a great treasure, 
which had been long before sunk in a Spanish vessel, had 
acquired both wealth and rank — was appointed Governor of 
that Province. 

One of Usher's first efforts was to obtain possession of the 
records and files of the Superior -Court, including all the pa- 
pers relative to Mason's suit. On the dissolution of the gov- 
ernment at the termination of Andros' administration, they 
had been forcibly taken from Chamberlain the Secretary of 
the Province and Clerk of the Superior Court, by Captain 
Pickering of Portsmouth, who, with the view of throwing an 
obstruction in the way of Mason's further proceedings, had 
concealed them. To enable Allen to proceed in the estab- 
lishment of his Proprietary claim, it was necessary to recover 
these records. The Lieut. Governor ordered Pickering to 
be brought before him, and demanded their return. Picker- 
ing refused to give any account of them, except to the 
Assembly or some person authorized by that body to receive 
them : on which Usher imprisoned him. After a short deten- 
tion he submitted, and delivered the papers to the Secretary 
by Usher's order. 

To the calamities of war were now superadded several 
others. The small-pox, imported in bales of cotton from the 
West Indies, prevailed in Portsmouth and Greenland ; and 
as neither the method of inoculation nor the proper treatment 
of the disease were then known, many died. The public 
mind, especially in Massachusetts, began at this time to be 
strangely agitated by the witchcraft delusion. Many persons 
imagined themselves to be afflicted by the spectres of others 
appearing to them, beating, pinching, pricking, and otherwise 



1693.] period in.— 1679— 1698. 49 

tormenting them. The prisons were soon filled with the ac- 
cused, and nineteen unhappy victims of popular delusion 
were executed. Divines, Judges, Lawyers, and Jurors gave 
to the excitement the whole weight of their belief, and thus 
led the country into a labyrinth of errors and iniquities. — 
Things came to that pass that the easiest way to escape accu- 
sation was to accuse others, and at length persons of the first 
standing in the community were accused. A son of Gov. 
Bradstreet, charged with having bewitched a dog, and ridden 
on his back through the air, was obliged to flee into New- 
Hampshire, which was not greatly affected by the phrenzy. — 
Another son of Gov. Bradstreet, who as a magistrate had been 
concerned in examining and committing to prison many of 
the accused, being himself accused of killing nine persons 
by witchcraft, was glad to escape into Maine. Among the 
accused were the Secretary of Connecticut and the lady of 
Gov. Phipps. The evil became intolerable, and men began 
to ask where it would end ? A little reflection brought back 
the people to then senses ; the prosecutions were dropped ; 
the prisons were thrown open; and the Judges and jurors 
concerned in the trials, made public confession of their errors. 

Though the Indian war impoverished the people and hin- 
dered the growth of the Province, we yet find some faint 
traces of internal improvement. A Post Office, connected 
with that at Boston, was established at Portsmouth in 1693. — 
Great Island, Little Harbor, and Sandy Beach, (now Rye) were 
made a distinct town by the name of New-Castle. In the 
spring of the next year twenty persons from Hampton, having 
obtained from Usher a charter of the township, began the 
settlement of Kingston ; but the danger of a surprisal by the 
savages induced many of them to abandon the enterprize, and 
rendered the progress of the new settlement extremely slow. 
So well were the frontiers guarded this year that the Indians 
found themselves unable to effect much mischief, and in Au- 
gust sent in proposals for a peace, which for a brief space they 
observed and which gave the Province a little respite from 
war. 

Had the savages been left to themselves they had probably 
remained quiet. But Villieu, the commander of a small French 
fort at Penobscot, was busy in persuading them to break the 
treaty they had just made, and finally made them believe that 
" to break faith with heretics was no sin." A body of 250 
Eastern Indikns assembled under his command to attack the 
English, and Durham was selected as the devoted object. — 
They arrived on the borders of the place, undiscovered, on 

E 



50 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1696. 

the evening of June 17th, 1694, made their attack early the 
next morning, destined five garrisoned houses out of twelve, 
and killed or led away captive about an hundred of the people. 
The house of Mr. Buss, minister of the town, together with his 
valuable library was burnt. Seven fortified houses were suc- 
cessfully defended. In one of them was a man who had been 
kept aAvake through the night by toothache ; hearing the first 
gun he roused the inmates just in time to secure the gate. — 
Bickford, the owner of another house, having sent off his 
family in a boat, undertook a defence alone, and by changing 
his dress frequently and firing briskly made the enemy believe 
there were several men within, and induced them to draw off. 
While the main body retreated northward, a detachment went 
to the farm of Madam Ursula Cutis, the relict of President 
Cutts, and killed her and three of her workmen who were 
making hay. This respectable lady had been advised to retire 
to a place of safety, her farm lying on the bank of the river, 
two miles above Portsmouth, remote from succor in case of at- 
tack. She concluded to remain till Saturday night to finish 
some work then in hand, but was slain a little after noon of 
that very day. Col. Waldron and his wife with their son, had 
engaged to dine with her that day,and were preparing to go to 
her house in a boat, when the unexpected arrival of some 
friends detained them at home. This was a providential es- 
cape — had they gone, they had probably shared her fate. While 
dining in their own house at Dover they had the melancholy 
intelligence of her death. 

Little mischief was done by the savages in 1695. In the 
summer of the next year a considerable party of them who 
came from the eastward in canoes, made a morning attack at 
Portsmouth plain, two miles from the town. They had been 
lurking in the woods some while, and suspicions had been 
excited the preceding day by the cattle running out of the 
bushes, affrighted : but the circumstance was not sufficiently 
regarded. Nineteen persons were killed or made prisoners, 
and several buildings burned. A company of militia under 
Capt. Shackford pursued the marauders, and came up with 
them as they were busy in cooking their breakfast, at a place 
since called Breakfast Hill, between Greenland and Rye. — 
Rushing upon them suddenly they recovered the captives and 
the plunder ; but the Indians fled to their canoes and effected 
their escape, eluding several armed boats which had been 
stationed to intercept their retreat. A few weeks afterwards, 
some people of Dover returning home from public worship 



1697.] period m.— 1679— 1698. 51 

fell into an ambushment, and had nine of their number killed, 
wounded, or captivated. 

A gallant exploit was performed in this Province by a heroine 
of Haverhill, Ms., in April, 1697. Mrs. Dustan of that place, 
with her nurse and infant, was made prisoner and led into the 
wilderness, where the savages finding the infant an encum- 
brance, quickly despatched k. The women were conducted to 
a little island near the mouth of Contoocook river within the 
limits of Boscawen, and detained in charge of a party of In- 
dians consisting of two men, three women, and seven children. 
Here Mrs. Dustan formed the bold design of escaping. Finding 
her keepers one night fast asleep, she with no other aid than 
that of her nurse and an English boy taken from Worcester, 
killed ten of the twelve savages and made her way with their 
<r;t!}>.< through the trackless wilderness to Boston ! The fame 
of her heroic achievement spread far and wide, and procured 
her many presents, among others a valuable one from Gov. 
Nicholson of Maryland. A relation of one more incident will 
close the gloomy detail of Indian barbarities in this war. In 
June a party of the enemy concealed themselves in the woods 
about Exeter, intending to attack the town the next morning. 
Though dissuaded by their friends, several women and chil- 
dren ventured into the fields at an early hour to gather straw- 
berries, when some one fired a gun to frighten them. The 
town was alarmed and an armed force quickly brought together. 
Supposing themselves to have been discovered, the Indians 
staid only long enough to kill one, wound another, and capti- 
vate a third, when they fled with precipitation. In this appa- 
rently accidental alarm the reflecting mind sees the hand of 
an all-governing Disposer,interposed to preserve the town from 
utter destruction. 

All the latter part of the season the country was agitated by 
apprehensions of a French invasion. The Marquis Nesmond 
sailed from France with a great force, expecting to be joined 
at Penobscot by an army from Canada and then to ravage the 
coast of New-England. It was feared that Portsmouth might 
be the first point of attack. But the delay of the fleet, which 
did not arrive on the coast of Newfoundland till late in autumn, 
rendered the whole design impracticable. The following 
winter was remarkable for intense cold and deep snows. 

In the course of these events Lieut. Gov. Usher became 
more and more unpopular. He irritated the people by sus- 
pending from their seats in he Council some of the chief op- 
posers of the proprietary claim, among whom were Hinckes, 
Disappointed in his expectations 



52 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1697. 

both of obtaining grants of the Assembly and of receiving 
the stipulated salary from Allen, he had solicited leave to re- 
sign. His opponents however had the address to get him 
superseded by procuring, without his suspecting their designs, 
the appointment of William Partridge as Lieut. Governor 
and Commander in Chief in Allen's absence. He was a na- 
tive of Portsmouth — distinguished for skill in naval architecture 
— a man of popular address — and had been largely engaged 
in trade. Early in 1697 he returned from England with his 
commission, containing a full revocation of Usher's authority • 
but for some reason did not qualify himself to aet in his of- 
fice, by taking the necessary oath, till almost a year after- 
wards. In the mean time, the suspended Councillors resumed 
their seats, and John Hinckes as President of the Council, 
officiated as Chief Magistrate till Partridge was duly quali- 
fied. 

To be thus superseded was to Usher unexpected and mor- 
tifying. He made some efforts to retain his authority, and 
attempted to excite the people of Hampton to support him 
by force of arms; but the tide of public feeling ran strong 
against him, and he found it necessary to quit the Province. — 
President Hinckes and the Council issued a proclamation sta- 
ting the revocation of Usher's powers, and commanding all 
persons to submit to their authority. In answer to a complaint 
of these proceedings which he transmitted to England, the 
government there directed him to continue to act in his office, 
till Partridge should duly qualify himself. Bearing this com- 
munication, and also an official notice of the peace just con- 
cluded between France and England, he came to Portsmouth 
in December, to reassume the reins of government ; on which 
Partridge the very next day qualified himself in due form, 
and entered on the duties of the chief magistracy. Chagrin- 
ed and mortified, Usher returned to Boston. 

The loss of the Rev. Mr. Moodey of Portsmouth, excited 
the general regret of the people. On the approach of his 
last sickness, he repaired for medical advice to Boston, where 
he died in 1697. Such was his eminence that he was once 
elected President of Harvard College, but modestly declined 
that important trust. Of his courageous resistance of Cran- 
field's arbitrary designs, an account has been given in a pre- 
ceding page. His disposition was benevolent, and led him 
to embrace every opportunity of doing good. He had the 
good sense to oppose at the time of the" Salem Witchcraft 
that torrent of delusion which swept away almost all others, 
tind exposed himself to no small obloquy, by his efforts to be- 



1698.] period in.— 1679— 1698. 53 

friend the unfortunate accused. A Mr. English, a merchant 
of Salem, and his wife were among the accused, and were 
imprisoned at Boston. The day before they were to be re- 
moved to Salem for trial, Mr. Moodey invited them to attend 
public worship, and preached from the text, " When they 
persecute you in one city, flee ye into another." This was 
intended as a hint to them to make their escape. After ser- 
vice he visited them in prison, and warned them of their 
danger. By his advice and assistance, they escaped to New- 
York, furnished with letters of introduction to Col. Fletcher, 
Governor of that Province, by whom they were kindly en- 
tertained in his own house. After the phrenzy had subsided, 
they returned to Salem. But for this kind interference of 
Mr. Moodey, they had probably fallen victims to the popular 
delusion. 

Most welcome was the news of peace. The French Gov- 
ernor of Canada, in 1698, notified the Indians that he could 
no longer aid them in the war, and advised them to bury the 
hatchet. They had themselves suffered much from famine, 
sickness, and the sword ; and after some delay were induced 
to conclude at Portland, a treaty with the English, in which 
they engaged future peace and the restoration of the captives. 
Thus ended the first ten years' war, which had inflicted on 
the northern parts of New-England great evils. The lot of 
the unhappy captives was often wretched in the extreme. — 
Such aged, infirm or corpulent persons as could not travel in 
the pathless wilderness, were at once butchered on the spot ; 
crying infants, whom their mothers could not at once quiet, 
were dashed against a tree, or despatched with a toma- 
hawk. A married woman, taken at Durham, unable to nurse 
an infant child, born in the open air in a violent snow-storm, 
was doomed to see it thus destroyed. Those able to travel 
were compelled, though almost unclad and unfed, to traverse 
miry swamps, steep mountains, and almost interminable 
forests, through rivers and through snows. If they lived 
to reach Canada, the happiest allotment they could expect 
was to be sold to the French, to be detained as prisoners 
till ransomed by their friends. Truth however requires us to 
add that amid many barbarities, there were not wanting in- 
stances on the part both of Frenchmen and Indians, of kind- 
ness and humanity. Some of the younger captives became 
attached to savasre life and voluntarily remained with the 
Indians— to the poignant grief of their relatives at home, to 
whom such an event was little less distressing, than to have 
heard of their death. 
E* 



PERIOD IV. 



FROM THE CLOSE OF KING WILLIAM'S WAR IN 1698 TO THE 
TERMINATION OF QUEEN ANN'S WAR IN 1713. 

After a delay of six years from the date of his appointment 
as Chief Magistrate of New-Hampshire, Gov. Allen came over 
for the first time from England to America in the summer of 
1698. It being well known that his errand was the establish- 
ment of the proprietary claim he had derived by purchase from 
3Iason, he met but a cold reception. The people with whom 
he had to deal were men both of hard hands and of independent 
spirits ; and spurned the idea of being considered as the mere 
tenantry of the soil they cultivated. They well knew that the 
Earl of Bellomont had received the appointment of Governor 
of New- York, Massachusetts, and New-Hampshire : — but it 
being uncertain when he would arrive, and undeniable that 
Allen's commission remained in force till the arrival of his 
successor, he assumed without opposition the administration 
of the government and retained it almost a year. By his au- 
thority, Usher resumed his place in the Council as Lieut. Gov- 
ernor, to the exclusion of Partridge. This measure gave great 
offence ; and was considered as illegal both by the Assembly 
and a majority of the Council, who regarded Partridge's com- 
mission as being still in force. Most of the old Counsellors 
refused to sit at the board with Usher, and the whole of Allen's 
short administration was little else than a scene of altercation. 
His own temper was placable and yielding — but Usher's was 
otherwise, and his influence pushed on the Governor into 
measures, which, had he followed the bent of his own feelings, 
he would not have attempted. 

He was superseded the next year by the arrival of the Earl 
of Bellomont, a nobleman of accomplished manners and lib- 
eral principles, who was received by the people with great 
cordiality. From this time and onward through a period of 
forty-two years, Massachusetts and New-Hampshire, though 
each Province had its own separate Lieutenant Governor, 



1700.] period iv.— 1698— 1713. 55 

Council, and Assembly of Representatives, and its own code 
of laws, were placed under the administration of the same 
Governor. The new Governor shewed himself friendly to the 
popular cause and reversed the former decision of Gov. Allen 
in favor of Usher, thereby restoring Partridge to the office of 
Lieut. Governor. By his authority the Counsellors whom 
Usher had suspended, resumed their seats at the board; and 
their associates who had retired from their places rather than 
sit with Usher, returned of course. Bellomont made but one 
visit, and that a short one, to New-Hampshire, on which occa- 
sion he received from the Assembly a liberal grant. On his 
return to Boston, he left the Lieut. Governor and Council, now 
constituted in accordance with the popular wishes, to manage 
the affairs of government. In anticipation of the efforts 
expected soon to be made by the Proprietor, they availed 
themselves of the favorable opportunity to new-model the 
Courts, making John Hinckes Chief Justice of the Superior 
Court, and selecting the side Judges from among the decided 
opponents of the proprietary claim. This organization of the 
Judicial tribunals left to Allen but a faint prospect of succeed- 
ing in his views on the lands, unless by an appeal from the 
Courts here to the authorities in England. 

After a short residence in Massachusetts, Bellomont returned 
to New- York where he soon after died, much regretted. His 
attention had been considerably directed to the suppression of 
the piracies, which at that time harrassed the commerce of the 
American coasts. In the course of his administration, the fa- 
mous Capt. Kidd and other pirates were taken, sent to England 
for trial, and executed. Almost down to this day credulous 
persons have imagined that these pirates buried large sums of 
money in the earth, and have had the folly to dig for concealed 
treasures which have never yet been found. 

Prior to the Earl's death, Allen commenced a series of efforts 
to establish his proprietary claim which kept the Province in 
agitation for some years. The details are rather uninteresting. 
To give a connected view of the affair, we must anticipate 
dates and trace the progress of the controversy from 1700 to 
1715. From the Provincial Courts he had little to hope, but 
looked for a favorable issue on an appeal to the King. On 
examining the records of the Superior Court, many leaves, 
supposed to contain the record of the judgments formerly 
given in Mason's favor, were missing — having probably been 
destroyed by design ; the consequence was that he was obliged 
to begin altogether anew. He brought a suit of ejectment in 
1700 against Waldron of Dover, one of the largest landholders. 



56 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1701. 

Judgment being given in Waldron's favor, the case was brought 
by appeal before the King. As the cause of Waldron was 

equally that of every other landholder, the Assembly appointed 
George Vaughan, a son of Maj. William Vaughan the chief op- 
ponent of Cranrield, to repair to England as their agent and 
Waldron's attorney. In the mean time King William died, 
and was succeeded by Queen Ann in 1702. When the appeal 
came before the Queen's Council there was some defect of 
proof on the part of Allen, which occasioned the judgment of 
the New-Hampshire Court in AValdron's favor to be affirmed : 
with permission however to Allen to begin anew by a writ of 
ejectment in the Courts here. He availed himself of this per- 
mission and judgment was again given against him. These 
perplexing disappointments, together with want of funds and 
the infirmities of age, inclined the Proprietor to make to the 
people overtures of accommodation. A Convention of Dep- 
uties from the different towns, holden at Portsmouth in 1705, 
agreed to propose to him, that on condition of quitclaiming to 
the inhabitants and their heirs all the lands within the limits 
of the townships then settled, they would admit his claim to 
all the remaining parts of the Province, allot him tracts in the 
settled towns to the amount of 5000 acres, and pay him a con- 
siderable sum of money. Probably Allen would have accepted 
these proposals, had not his death prevented an issue so desi- 
rable. Though his proprietary claim made him obnoxious to 
the people, it should not be forgotten that his character as a 
merchant was honorable, his private deportment amiable, and 
his christian profession well supported. His son Thomas Al- 
len renewed the suit, but unsuccessfully : on which he appealed 
to the Queen in 1707. The distresses of the war then raging 
induced the English government to delay an hearing on the 
appeal for some years, till at length the death of Allen termi- 
nated the suit, and the inhabitants of the Province were reliev- 
ed from the fear of disturbance in the possession of their 
lands. 

Glad to dismiss this almost interminable controversy, we 
return to chronological order. A society of the people called 
Quakers or Friends was formed at Seabrook, then a part of 
Hampton, in 1701. For some years before, a few individuals 
of this denomination had been found in the Province ; but 
this was the first regular society. At the present day the 
number of their societies is almost twenty. As is well known, 
the unlawfulness of war in all cases whatever is one of the 
tenets of this respectable denomination ; and so far as the re- 
sults, in the case of the Quakers, Moravians, and some other 



1703.] period iv.— 1698— 1713. 57 

denominations of kindred views, have become matters of his- 
tory, they go to prove that pacific principles serve rather to 
protect from wrong than to invite aggression ; and that of 
course they may be safely adopted, and the final issue left with 
confidence at the disposal of the Supreme Ruler of the 
world. 

Joseph Dudley, Esquire, who had formerly occupied the 
chair a short time, was appointed in 1702 Governor of Mas- 
sachusetts and New-Hampshire. As he was favorably disposed 
to the interests of the people in relation to the proprietary 
claim, the appointment was acceptable, and the Assembly 
granted him a permanent salary. The next year Usher ob- 
tained a second commission constituting him Lieut. Gov- 
ernor of New-Hampshire, much to the dissatisfaction of the 
inhabitants. It is a fact not a little singular that this man,who 
had been twice superseded by Partridge, should now in his 
turn a second time supersede his rival. The latter, on his 
final retirement from public life, removed from the Province 
and devoted himself to mercantile pursuits at Newbury. — 
The population of New-Hampshire had increased at this 
time to 10,000 ; the number of towns was six ; of Congrega- 
tional Churches, five. 

To an historian who believes that war in all cases, that of in- 
evitable self-defence excepted, is repugnant to the example and 
precepts of Jesus Christ, it must be painful to record its scenes 
of guilt and devastation. Better were it to commit his manu- 
script to the flames, than send to the press what would serve 
to excite a military feeling not under the control of conscience 
and religion. That wars of aggression ; of plunder ; of revenge; 
of false honor ; and of military glory, are anti-christian, is an 
unquestionable truth : — and it is equally certain that in all wars 
the guilt of complicated murder must attach, if not to both, at 
least to one of the parties. Viewed however as events which 
the Ruler of the Universe has permitted to exist, the events of 
war belong to history ; and without doubt there is a mode of 
exhibiting them, free from any tendency to excite military 
passion or malevolent feeling. By the Author who regards 
as he ought the moral influence of what he writes, this mode 
must be considered as a great desideratum. 

In 1703 began the second ten years' war with the French 
and Indians, called Queen Ann's War. The French King 
having proclaimed the Pretender as King of Great Britain, a 
declaration of war followed on the part of England. As soon 
as intelligence of this event reached this country, it was fore- 
seen that the French would excite the Indians to resume the 



58 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1704. 

hatchet. Desirous of keeping them quiet if possible, Gov. 
Dudley visited Maine and invited them to a conference at 
Portland ; where their Chiefs assured him that " as high as the 
Sun above the Earth, so far distant was their design of breaking 
the peace." But their professions were insincere : it was after- 
wards discovered that had they been in sufficient force, they 
would have seized the Governor on the spot. In the course 
of a few weeks, they attacked at the instigation of French 
agents all the settlements from Portland to Wells, and killed 
and captivated 130 persons. 

This wide spread devastation filled the people of New- 
Hampshire with alarm, and soon were their fears of an assault 
realized in the butchery of several persons in Hampton. The 
Penacooks and Pequawkets joined with the eastern tribes in 
the war. Women and children took refuge in the fortified 
houses, and the men went armed to public worship and to 
their labors in the fields. Scouting parties penetrated to Ossi- 
pee lake and the head w r aters of the Saco, but the enemy 
eluded an attack. An expedition undertaken in the winter and 
led by Col. Winthrop Hilton of Exeter, a gallant officer, and 
gprandson of Edward Hilton, was equally unsuccessful. 

In the destruction of Deerfield, Ms. at the opening of thS 
next year, the enemy struck a blow which excited general 
consternation. The ensuing summer was however less disas- 
trous to New-Hampshire than the people had forebo- 
ded ; though lurking parties of Indians infested the 
woods and occasionally killed a few individuals. A design 
formed by the French to intercept the vessels which brought 
supplies of bread stuffs from the South to the harbor of Pas- 
cataqua, was happily frustrated by the stranding on the shore 
of Cape Cod, of the armed vessel they had fitted out for this 
purpose. A body of men under Col. Hilton, joined by a large 
body from Massachusetts, the whole commanded by Col. 
Church, spent the summer in an expedition to the Eastward, 
killing and taking prisoners several of the enemy at Penob- 
scot, and destroying some French settlements in Nova Scotia, 
then called Acadia. In the western part of the Province was 
performed an exploit worthy of a memorial. Some Indians 
after the massacre at Deerfield went up the Connecticut river, 
and established themselves in the fishing season at Coawsuck, 
or Coos, probably not far from Haverhill. This being repor- 
ted at Northhampton, Ms. Lieut. Lyman with five friendly 
Indians went nine days march into the wilderness, discovered 
their encampment in which were ten savages, and killed nine 



1706.] period iv.— 1698— 1713. 59 

of them in a sudden attack made in a thunderstorm in the 
dead of the night. 

Early in 1705, the snow being four feet deep and the whole 
country exhibiting a n aspect of desolation, Col. Hilton led 
270 men on snowshoes to Norridgewalk to attack the enemy in 
their winter quarters ; but they discovered the design in sea- 
son to effect their escape. The capture of a large storeship 
from France, having on board several persons of distinction 
and valuable supplies destined to Canada, so disabled the 
French there, that they could undertake no enterprise of con- 
sequence, and the frontiers were tolerably quiet all the season. 
So numerous however were the French privateers on the 
coasts, that a line of nighly patrols was established from Ports- 
mouth to Hampton to prevent a surprisal by parties landing in 
the night. 

The next year the Indians exhibited more vigor. A small 
party attacked a house in Durham in which were only a few 
females, the men being absent. Determined not to fall into 
the hands of the barbarians — these heroines, putting on their 
husbands' hats and assuming the appearance of men, kept up 
so smart a fire that the assailants fled. The unhappy family 
of John Wheeler, consisting of himself, wife, and six child- 
ren, met them on their retreat and at first mistook them for 
friendly Indians ; four of the number were killed — the others 
fled and found concealment and safety in a cave. In July a 
considerable body of western Indians came to Wells' garrison 
in Dunstable, in which were twenty soldiers. Unaware of 
impending danger they had neglected keeping a watch ; the 
result of their negligence was that the enemy entered the fort 
by surprise, and killed half the men in it. Still thirsting for 
blood, they attacked another house not far distant, where they 
slew several persons. The unhappy fate of Joe English, a 
sagacious and friendly Indian, distinguished by this name for 
his uniform attachment to the white people, and for this very 
reason obnoxious to the hostile Indians, deserves to be re- 
membered. Going to accompany two persons from Dunsta- 
ble to Chelmsford, he was waylaid and shot down, much to 
the gratification of the savages, who had long been seeking 
his death. He often resided within the present limits of New- 
Boston, near a lofty and precipitous hill which has ever since 
borne his name. Having finished their destructive operations 
in the vicinity of Dunstable, the same party of savages went 
eastward, and at Exeter surprised ten men mowing in a field, 
killing, wounding, or captivating eight, of the number. They 
next entered Dover. An eccentric man in this town, named 



60 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1708. 

Pearl, had lived three years, day and night, summer and win- 
ter, in a cave almost in the very path by which the Indians 
used to approach. Often had he been admonished of his 
danger: but refusing to seek other quarters, he was discover- 
ed and killed in his sequestered abode. 

Col. Hilton conducted a winter expedition to the eastward 
in January, 1707, of which the results were of some impor- 
tance. Having surprised a small party of Indians at Scarbo- 
rough, he despatched four of the number. A squaw who 
fell into his hands as a prisoner, was induced to conduct him 
to a larger party of eighteen, lying fast asleep in a place of 
fancied security, of whom he killed seventeen on the spot. 
The hopes inspired by this success were however damped by 
the unfortunate issue of a subsequent expedition to Port Roy- 
al, the capital of the French settlements in Nova Scotia, and 
the centre of their influence over the eastern Indians. New- 
Hampshire united with the adjacent colonies in raising a con- 
siderable army for the reduction of this place, and an im- 
portant command was assigned to Col. Hilton, her fa- 
vorite son. The forces reached the place under the con- 
voy of two men of war ; but dissentions between the military 
and naval officers rendered the plan abortive, and the troops 
returned late in the summer, sickly and disheartened. 

Among the officers engaged in the Port Royal Expedition, 
none was more distinguished for bravery and enterprise than 
Capt. Chesley of Durham. The tragical fate which awaited 
him on his return deprived the Province of a man, whom, in 
her miserably feeble state, it was a serious calamity to lose. 
He was one of a party who went into the woods with their 
teams for some timber, and while engaged in work were sur- 
prised by Indians, painted with a blood color, who at the first 
fire killed seven men. Chesley with the few survivors made 
a gallant defence, but at length himself fell, deeply lamented. 

Much alarm was excited the next year by the report of a 
powerful army to be sent from Canada to lay waste the Eng- 
lish settlements. A considerable force was indeed sent on an 
incursion into New-England, but they found the frontiers of 
New-Hampshire so well guarded, that they directed their 
march to Haverhill, Mass., where they slew many of the in- 
habitants, together with the Rev. Mr. Rolfe, Minister of the 
town, and burnt most of the buildings. Two daughters and a 
maid-servant of Mr. Rolfe fled into the cellar, and under the 
shelter of large tabs happily found concealment. The re- 
mainder of this year and all the next passed away without se- 
rious disaster ; the people were however confined to the garri- 



1711.] period iv.— 1698— 1713. 61 

soned houses and agitated with continual apprehensions of 
attacks. 

The enemy executed in 1710, their long meditated design 
of killing Col. Hilton, whose activity and enterprise had in- 
spired them with a strong desire to put him out of the way. 
Having ventured with some men several miles into the forest 
to secure some masts, he was surprised and slain with two of 
his men. A pursuing party from Exeter found the mangled 
bodies of the slain on the next day, the fatal tomahawk still 
remaining buried in the Colonel's head. Thus fell one of the 
most estimable citizens, and one of the bravest defenders of 
New-Hampshire ! His elegant silver headed cane is pre- 
served to this day by his descendants as a precious memorial. 
The lamented death of Hilton was quickly followed by the 
butchery or capture of several persons at Exeter, Kingston, 
and Dover : among the rest, four children at Exeter, while 
engaged in their play, and totally unsuspicious of danger, 
were seized by the enemy and led off into the wilderness. — 
But these losses were far more than balanced by the success 
of a second expedition to Port Royal, in which an hundred 
men from this Province led by Col. Walton, co-operated with 
the forces of the neighboring Provinces. Aided by a naval 
armament from England, the troops took the place with little 
resistance, and its name was changed to Annapolis, in honor of 
the Queen. 

This important success encouraged an attempt the next 
year on Quebec itself. A powerful fleet under Admiral 
Walker, and several regiments of veteran troops were des- 
patched from England ; who on their arrival at Boston were 
joined by such large reinforcements of Colonists as swelled the 
whole number to 6500. Never before had New-England seen 
on her waters and fields, a force so formidable. One hun- 
dred of the Colonial troops were furnished by New-Hampshire. 
With the brightest anticipations of success, the expedition 
sailed from Boston, July, 1711, and had entered the mouth of 
the St. Lawrence, when in one fatal night all their hopes were 
blasted. The weather being thick and dark, and the Admiral 
obstinately refusing to direct the course of the fleet according 
to the advice of the pilots, eight transports were wrecked on 
an island, and more than a thousand men perished in the wa- 
ters ! — the sad result of the rashness and obstinacy of one 
man ! Disheartened by the disaster, the fleet returned to 
Europe, and the Colonial troops to their homes. From the 
wrecks the French obtained many cannon and other spoils of 
great value. It was observed by the pious people of that day 
F 



HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1713. 

as a Providential interposition, that of the multitude who per- 
ished in that dreadful shipwreck, only one man belonged to 
New-England. 

Small bands of savages still prowled around the frontiers, 
but were unable to commit very extensive depredations. A 
scout of forty men continually ranged the woods from Kings- 
ton to Dover ; half the militia did duty at the garrisons, ready 
to pursue a hostile party at a moment's warning ; and spy 
boats were constantly employed off the coast, to prevent a sur- 
prisal by the Eastern Indians coming by sea. An interesting 
incident in the annals of savage warfare occurred at Dover. 
A number of Indians came into the town, killed two children, 
and made demonstrations of attacking a fortified house, in 
which were only some women — the men being absent. A 
resolute woman named Esther Jones mounted guard ; and 
with a thundering voice called for aid, as if conscious it was 
at hand ; on which the enemy, outwitted by the stratagem, and 
imagining they might be overpowered, drew off without far- 
ther efforts. 

In the autumn of 1712, arrived the welcome intelligence of 
the peace concluded between England and France by the 
treaty of Utrecht. No longer supported by aids from Canada, 
and weakened by sword and famine, the Indian Chiefs were 
easily induced in the ensuing summer to meet Gov. Dudley 
with the Councils of Massachusetts and New-Hampshire, in 
conference at Portsmouth, where a peace was agreed on which 
happily continued for several years. Most joyfully did the 
people* leave the garrisoned houses, and betake themselves to 
the peaceful pursuits of industry in their own dwellings and 
fields. Of the thirty-seven preceding years, twenty-three 
had been years of war, in which New-England was com- 
puted to have lost five or six thousand of the flower of her 
youth ! New-Hampshire had a large share of these suffer- 
ings, and, like a ship which has weathered out the storm, but 
is become shattered and crippled, was left in a very deplorable 
condition. In addition to the meritorious officers who fell by 
the hand of the enemy, the Province, within the period em- 
braced in this chapter, lost other distinguished citizens by the 
ordinary course of death. The Rev. John Cotton of Hampton, 
whose father, Seaborn Cotton, was his predecessor in the 
ministry in that place, died in 1710 ; as did also the Rev. John 
Pike of Dover, a pious and useful man. From a journal of 
passing events kept by him, and still remaining in manuscript, 
historians have derived the knowledge of several interesting 
occurrences which had otherwise fallen into oblivion. 



PERIOD V. 



FROM THE PEACE OF 1713, TO THE FINAL SETTLEMENT OF THE 
BOUNDARY LINES AND THE APPOINTMENT OF A SEPARATE 
GOVERNOR FOR NEW-HAMPSHIRE IN 1741. 

Soon after the restoration of peace, arrangements were made 
for the exchange of prisoners, and a vessel was fitted out for 
Quebec, which brought back the surviving captives to their 
friends. 

Gov. Dudley had conducted the administration of the gov- 
ernment during the scenes of the late protracted war to 
general acceptance. The circumstance that he favored the 
views of those who opposed the claims of Allen, went a great 
way in conciliating popular favor. Now and then his enemies 
attacked his character; but on these occasions the New- 
Hampshire Assembly shewed themselves his steady friends by 
addressing the Queen in his defence. As is truly remarked by 
Belknap, their "Addresses to the crown were frequent during 
this female reign, scarce a year passing without one or two." 
They either congratulated her Majesty on her victories in 
Europe ; or petitioned for arms and military stores for their 
own defence and for ships and troops to go against Canada ; or 
represented their own poverty or the merits of Dudley ; or 
thanked her Majesty for her interposition in not permitting the 
suit of Allen to be decided against them. 

George Vaughan of Portsmouth, obtained in 1715 a commis- 
sion constituting him Lieut. Governor of New-Hampshire ; 
and the circumstances of his being a native of the Province, 
and the son of one of the most determined opposers of the 
proprietary claim, rendered the appointment quite acceptable. 
On his arrival from England and publishing his commis- 
sion, Lieut. Gov. Usher, advanced in years, retired to private 
life at his seat in Medford. During the war he had made fre- 
quent journies from Boston, the place of his residence, to 
New-Hampshire, and zealously promoted the defence and in- 
terests of the Province : but after all, his reserved, stately man- 



64 ' HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1716. 

cers and his connection with the Allen family, made him 
unpopular. Gov. Dudley, expecting soon to be superseded, 
left the administration of affairs in this Province wholly in the 
hands of Vaughan. The Assembly were very desirous of 
having the Governor retained in office, and petitioned the 
King to this effect ; but in vain. Col. Samuel Shute, an English 
officer, was the next year appointed to succeed him as Gover- 
nor of Massachusetts and New-Hampshire. Dudley passsed 
the evening of life in dignified retirement at his seat in Roxbu- 
ry. Though like other eminent men he had his share of 
obloquy, yet his character commanded great respect. He was 
in the habit of praying with his children separately for their 
everlasting well being, and was attentive to the religious 
instruction of his servants : traits of character not unfrequent 
at that day among the distinguished men of New-England. 

Of Shute's administration the first acts were rather unpop- 
ular. He displaced six of the old counsellors and appointed in 
their stead six others, all of Portsmouth : a measure offensive 
to the landed interest, on an apprehension that the Portsmouth 
gentlemen might be disposed to favor unduly the trading inter- 
est, and lay too much of the burden of supporting government 
on the farmers. There was a want of harmony between him 
and the House of Representatives. They complained of the 
removal of the old Counsellors, and refused their consent to 
an emission of bills of credit to the extent he desired ; on 
which after some unpleasant bickerings he dissolved them. — - 
A warm controversy arose between him and Lieut. Governor 
Vaughan. The Governor resided for the most part in Massa- 
chusetts, as the more important of his two provinces. Vaughan 
contended that he had no authority in New-Hampshire except 
when he was personally present, and that during his absence 
from the Province the Lieut.Gov. was Commander-in-Chief. 
On the other hand Shute asserted his own claim of supreme 
authority in his absence as well as when present, and denied 
the right of the Lieut. Gov. to exercise any govermental pow- 
ers without express instructions^ Vaughan ventured to disobey 
some of his instructions, and suspended Judge Penhallow, a 
warm friend to the Governor, from his seat in the Council. — 
Incensed at these steps, Shute repaired to Portsmouth, restored 
Penhallow and suspended Vaughan: and the public opinion sus- 
sustained the Governor and censured the rashness ofhisLietrL 
A report of these proceedings being made to the King, Vaugh 
an was removed from office in 1717, and John Wentworth, a 
merchant of Portsmouth, a man of fair reputation, conciliatory 
manners, and ample fortune, was appointed Lieut. Governor. 



1717.] period v.— 1713— 1741. 65 

In February, 1717, occurred the greatest foil of snow recor- 
ded in the annals of New-England — almost burying under 
the frozen mass the small log houses of the new plantations. 
So effectually were even the most travelled roads blocked, that 
the magistrates and ministers of Boston, who had come out of 
the town on the first day of the storm to attend the funeral of 
the Rev, Mr. Brattle at Cambridge, were unable to return for 
some days. In some portion of the streets of Boston, the 
snow was six feet in depth ; and on the thousand hills of New- 
Hampshire it lay in immense bodies. 

From the effects of the late war the country rapidly recov- 
ered, and soon exhited the spirit of improvement and enterprise. 
An edition of the Provincial laws,which had hitherto, remained 
in manuscript, was printed in Boston in a volume of 60 folio 
pages. The fisheries in the eastern waters were successful : 
and the British Parliament gave an impulse to the lumber bu- 
siness by permitting the importation of lumber into England 
free of duty. Something was done toward the cultivation of 
hemp, but it soon appeared that all the land the people could 
till was no more than was requisite for the production 
of corn. The multitude of pitch pine trees invited the man- 
ufacture of tar and turpentine, and not a few persons engaged 
in this business, till too frequent incisions destroyed the 
trees. 

No little ferment existed at this time among the Eastern In- 
dians. With utter dislike they saw the English settlements 
rapidly extending ; while the erection of mills, dams, and forts, 
injured their fisheries and interrupted their accustomed com- 
munications. They contended that the lands thus occupied 
had either been never sold by them, or sold by unauthorized 
persons ; and complained loudly of being cheated in trade. — 
To allay their discontents, Gov. Shute with several gentlemen 
of both his Provinces, went into Maine and held a conference 
with their Chiefs on an island in the Kennebec ; when he 
promised that trading houses should be established among 
them to furnish necessary supplies, and smiths sent to keep 
their guns in repair : — a promise never fulfilled. The bad 
conduct of some immoral men, who while they assumed the 
name, denied in practice the obligations of christians, had 
inspired them with strong prejudices against the religion of 
the English: so that one of their Sachcms,m conversation with 
a person who asked why they were so strongly attached to the 
French ? replied, "Because the French have taught us to pray 
to God, which the English never did." Bad men, bearing the 
christian name, but utterly void of christian principles, have 



66 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1719. 

in most ages formed the grand obstacle to the propogation of 
Christianity among unevangelized nations. Justice to the 
memory of the eastern Indians requires the admission, thaUhe 
guilt of the blood shed in successive wars rests not on them 
alone, but attaches in part to unprincipled whites. The great 
Judge of the Earth, when he shall make inquisition for blood, 
will apportion the guilt among the real criminals with exact 
impartiality, and "render to every man according to his 
works." 

Prior to this period, the population consisted with few ex- 
ceptions of the descendants of the original settlers who had 
established themselves on the different branches of the Pas- 
cataqua. Early in 1719 it received an important addition by 
the settlement of some Scottish families at Londonderry. A 
century before this date, their ancestors had emigrated from 
Argylshire in the west of Scotland to the Counties of Lon- 
donderry and Antrim in the north of Ireland, where they and 
their descendants shared largely in the persecutions of the 
Protestants in the reigns of Charles I. and James II. Bur- 
dened with rents and tythes, and thirsting for the enjoyment 
of civil and religious liberty, three Presbyterian ministers, of 
whom one was the RevJames M'Gregore, with many individ- 
uals of their Congregations, resolved on a removal to America, 
of which they had heard nattering reports. To the number 
of 120 families, they arrived, some at Boston and others at 
Portland, the preceding autumn, and passed the winter at 
different places. Mr. M'Gregore with sixteen others selected 
as their residence the tract then called Nutfield, now London- 
derry and Derry. He preached his first sermon there under 
a large Oak from the following passage: "Moreover I will 
make a covenant of peace with them : it shall be an everlasting 
covenant with them ; and I will plant them and multiply them 
and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore." 
Their original number soon received such large accessions by 
new emigrations of their countrymen, that in a few years the 
church they established included 230 communicants. The 
government of New-Hampshire extended to them a protecting 
hand, and they remembered with much gratitude the friendly 
offices of Lieut. Gov. Wentworth. Toward wealth and im- 
portance they made rapid advances. They were a well 
principled people ; frugal, hardy, industrious ; and warmly 
attached to the Presbyterian doctrine and discipline. Many of 
them and of their descendants lived to a very advanced age, 
Mr. Mc'Gregore remained with them about ten years, till his 

whose memory is 



1719.] period v.— 1713— 1741. 67 

still holden in high respect. His son, the Rev. David Mc'Greg- 
ore, afterwards minister of Londonderry, had few superiors 
in usefulness and ahility. Windham, Chester, Litclifield, Man- 
chester, Bedford, GofFstown, New-Boston, Antrim, Peterboro,' 
and Acworth in New-Hampshire ; together with some towns 
in Massachusetts, Maine, Nova Scotia, and Vermont, derived 
from Londonderry a considerable proportion of their first in- 
habitants. To this town we are to look for the origin of most of 
the Presbyterian churches now existing in New-England. — 
Its inhabitants endured for years much unmerited obloquy 
from their English neighbors confounding them with the 
proper Irish, from whom they essentially differed in language, 
mauners* and religion : but these prejudices have been long 
worn away. Many of their descendants have risen to high 
respectability, among whom are numbered four Governors of 
New-Hampshire ; one of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence ; several distinguished officers in the revolution- 
ary war and in the last war with Great Britain, including 
Stark, Reid, Miller, and M'Niel ; a President of Bowdoin 
College ; some members of Congress ; and several distin- 
guished ministers of the gospel. These people claim the 
merit of having introduced into the State the culture of the 
potatoe and the use of the foot spinning wheel. The superior 
excellence of their linen cloth and thread procured for these 
products of their industry an extensive demand, and contrib- 
uted much to the wealth of the town. Probably not less 
than 20,000, possibly 30,000 of the present inhabitants of our 
country are the descendants of the Londonderry Colony. 

This establishment, justly considered as the most respecta- 
ble Scottish settlement in New-England, gave a considerable 
impulse to the enterprise of New- Hampshire, and was soon 
followed by the formation of settlements in Chester, Litchfield, 
and Pelham. Not long after, the townships of Nottingham, 
Barrington, and Rochester were granted and incorporated, 
though not immediately settled. Many of the inhabitants of 
the old towns, desirous of providing farms for their children, 
began to think of a removal to places where lands were of 
easier acquisition. Other reasons also led to the procuring of 
these grants ; the best pines in the ungranted lands having 
been marked by the King's Surveyors, were reserved for the 
navy, and the people were forbidden to cut them under severe 
penalties ; while the pines within the incorporated townships 
were considered as private property. The convenience of 
possessing these valuable trees, often growing in this region to 



68 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1721. 

an immense size, excited of course an eager desire to obtain 
large grants of land. 

Hitherto there had been no legal determination of the 
boundary line between Massachusetts and New-Hampshire. — 
People who lived near the supposed line, were sometimes taxed 
by both : the officers of both were perplexed with conflicting 
claims of jurisdiction, and occasionally imprisoned each other. 
At a meeting in 1719 of Commissioners from the two Provin- 
ces, New-Hampshire contended for the establishment of a 
line beginning at a point three miles north of the mouth of the 
Merrimack, and extending thence in a due west course as far 
as to the western boundary of Massachusetts. Happily for this 
State, Massachusetts rejected a proposition far more favorable 
to her interests than the decision in which she was finally 
obliged to acquiesce, and the business remained for many 
years unsettled. 

On the night of the 17th of December, an unusual appear- 
ance in the heavens filled the people of New-England with 
alarm. It was the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights, a 
phenomenon which before this date had been noticed in Eu- 
rope, but was new to the people of this country. No wonder 
those streaks and sheets of flame, now of dazzling brightness 
and then of a bloody red, were terrible to eyes which beheld 
them for the first time. By many they were thought to be 
harbingers either of war and desolation, or of the day of 
Judgment. They are now seen with as little apprehension 
as a rainbow or an eclipse. 

A portion of New-England was seriously distressed in 
1721, by the prevalence of the small pox, chiefly in Boston 
and its vicinity, where five or six thousand persons took it 
the natural way, of whom some hundreds died. For the first 
time, inoculation was now introduced into the country. The 
Rev. Cotton Mather had seen some account of the success of 
this practice in Turkey, and recommended it to the physi- 
cians : of whom none had the courage to adopt it except Dr. 
Boylston, who tried the experiment in his own family. His 
success encouraged others to follow the example, and the 
practice was warmly supported by the clergy. It met how- 
ever with violent opposition — the prejudices of the people 
being at one time so strong against it, that it was deemed un- 
safe for Dr. Boylston to go out of his house at night. Many 
were of opinion that if any whom he inoculated should die, 
he ought to be treated as a murderer. But these mists of 
prejudice gradually fled away before the lights of experience, 



1722.] period v.— 1713— 1741. 69 

and the practice finally obtained general currency and appro- 
bation. 

Every attempt to conciliate the Eastern Indans had prov- 
ed unavailing. For some time they had exhibited threatening 
indications of hostility, stealing and killing the cattle of their 
English neighbors and burning stacks of hay. Some of the 
people had'been compelled to abandon their habitations and 
retire to places of safety. Scouting parties were sent east- 
ward under the command of Col. Walton of Somersworth, 
whose presence imposed on the savages some restraint. 
Sebastian Ralle, a French Jesuit, a man of learning, address, 
and insinuating manners, who had long resided at Norridg- 
wock had acquired over the sons of the forest a commanding 
influence. With him the Governor of Canada held corres- 
pondence, and was able through the medium of his influence 
to direct them at pleasure. Aware that. Ralle was a chief 
instigator of these troubles, the government sent in the depth 
of the winter of 1721 a considerable force under Col. West* 
brook to sieze him; but he discovered their approach in 
season to make his escape into the woods. Though they 
missed his person, they obtained his strong box of papers, 
furnishing ample proof that notwithstanding it was a time of 
peace between England and France, the Governor of Canada 
had been active in exciting the Indians to hostilities. The 
box is of ingenious construction and is still preserved as a 
curiosity. Provoked at this attempt on the Jesuit, w horn they 
greatly venerated, the savages in the course of the next sum- 
mer attacked several fishing vessels on the eastern shore, and 
destroyed Brunswick in Maine : on which war was declared 
against them in July, 1722, and a bounty offered for scalps. 
New-Hampshire made common cause with Massachusetts 
and furnished her full proportion of troops and commanders, 
among whom were Walton, Wcstbrook, Penhallow, and es- 
pecially Lovewell of Dunstable. 

The administration of Gov. Shute was on the whole accep- 
table to the people of this Province. Not so in Massachusetts, 
where he was engaged in a long and embittered controversy 
with the House of Representatives. His instructions from 
England required him to demand the settlement on the Gov- 
ernor of a fixed and permanent salary ; which they declined 
to vote, on the apprehension that it would render him too 
independent of the people. Shute pressed the subject perti- 
naciously, but they were firm in the refusal. Though a man 
of an humane disposition, yet his feelings were irritable ; 
having been used to military command, he could not bear 



70 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1724 

to be thwarted, and found his situation so uncomfortable that 
early in 1723 he returned to England with heavy complaints 
against Massachusetts. On his departure Lieut. Gov. Went- 
worth became Commander in Chief in a critical emergency, 
and conducted the affairs of the Province with great wisdom 
and fidelity through the perplexing scenes of the three years' 
war. 

In the ensuing summer the Indians began to annoy the 
New-Hampshire settlements. In the course of that and the 
two succeeding seasons, several families in Dover, Durham, 
Kingston, and Chester, were called to mourn the slaughter 
or captivity of friends. Londonderry was extremely expos- 
ed, but happily escaped an attack. Tradition ascribes its 
exemption to the following circumstance : the Rev. Mr. 
McGregore addressed a letter to the Governor of Canada, 
informing him that the settlers of that town were lately ar- 
rived from Ireland, and soliciting on their behalf his friendly 
interposition : which induced the Governor, who hastily in- 
ferred that they were Irish Catholics, between whom and the 
French existed a strong sympathy, to order the Indians to 
spare the place. 

Capt. Baker of North Hampton, Mass., led a party of thirty 
four men up the Connecticut river, crossed the height of 
land and passed down a river which led him to the Pemige- 
wasset in Plymouth, N. H. where he discovered a party of 
Indians. The whole surrounding region was then a vast 
wilderness. A battle immediately ensued, in which without 
the loss of a man he destroyed them all. The Indian Com- 
mander was Waltemummus. He and Baker fired at each 
other the same instant ; the ball of the savage grazed his 
eyebrow, while his ball passed through the Indian's breast, 
who made a leap from the ground and instantly fell dead. — 
Baker found in their weekwam a large quantity of valuable 
furs, of which he took what his men could carry off and 
destroyed the remainder. The river down which he passed 
to the Pemigewasset, flowing through the towns of Went- 
worth, Runmey, and Plymouth, has ever since borne his 
name. 

It was determined to make another effort to sieze Ralle, 
who continued to incite the Indians to the work of devasta- 
tion. Captains Harman and Moulton of Maine, each at the 
head of a company of an hundred men, marched for Nor- 
ridgwock in August, 1724, came upon the village by surprise, 
killed about eighty of the savages, and destroyed the catholic 
chapel. Ralle was found in a weekwam where he defended 



1724.] period v.— 1713— 1741. 7] 

himself with great intrepidity, till, overpowered by number?. 
he fell. Before his fall lie committed an act of barbarous 
cruelty by stabbing an English lad, who had been under his 
care as a prisoner. He was a man of extensive attainments, 
especially in languages, of which he understood several ; and 
left behind him a Manuscript. Dictionary of the Abankis lan- 
guage, now in the library of Harvard University. 

In September a band of thirty Indians surprised two men 
at Nashua, and carried them off as prisoners. As soon as an 
alarm could be given, eleven of the inhabitants followed them 
up the Merrimac. At the brook near Thornton's ferry, then 
called " Lutwytche's," they unwarily fell into an ambuscade, 
and withthe exception of Lieut. Farwell, were all killed. A 
party of their townsmen recovered the dead bodies and 
interred them in the burying ground at Dunstable. 

For the protection of their western settlements, the govern- 
ment of Massachusetts erected this year on the west bank of 
the Connecticut, within the present limits of Vermont, and 
near the southwestern corner of New-Hampshire, a strong 
fort, which was named Fort Dummer. 

The death of an Indian who was killed in the course of 
this brief war, was attended with circumstances which exci- 
ted considerable interest. He was one of a party of three 
who were prowling in the woods near Durham. Two men 
having discovered their packs and given notice of the fact, 
undertook to guide a pursuing company to the spot. As the 
two went in advance of the others, they fell into an ambus- 
cade and were both killed. The company then fired upon 
the enemy, killing one of the number ; the others though 
severely wounded, escaped, marking their tracks for some 
distance with their blood. The slain Indian was splendidly 
equipped ; to his scarlet coronet were attached four little bells, 
by the sound of which his men could follow him in the 
woods ; his hair w r as soft and fine ; a devotional book and a 
muster roll, were found on his person. He was supposed to 
have been a person of the first rank; the most probable conjec- 
ture is, that he belonged to the family of Castine, a French 
gentleman of distinction, w T ho had married an Indian woman, 
one of whose sons was recognized by the Penobscots as their 
principal chief. 

By the brilliant success of Harman and Moulton, together 
with the large bounty on scalps, a stimulus w r as given to the 
formation of volunteer scouting parties who traversed the 
woods, in some instances as far as to the White Mountains, in 
quest of Indians. They found but few, the terror of the 



72 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1725. 

Norridgwock exploit having induced them to retire from their 
villages and accustomed places of fishing and hunting, into 
the deep recesses of the forest. A volunteer company from 
Dunstable commanded by Capt. John Lovewell, remarkable 
for their enterprise, gallantly, and tragical disaster at last, 
gained a celebrity so pre-eminent, that the war itself took its 
distinguishing appellation from Lovewell's name. Tradition 
reports that he once led a scout into the region now forming 
the eastern part of the County of Sullivan, where he gained 
some advantage over the enemy ; and the circumstance of a 
mountain in Washington, near which this adventure is said 
to have happened, bearing his name, imparts to the account 
some degree of credibility. Of three of his expeditions we 
have authentic records. The first, into the region north of 
the Winnepiseogee, had no very important results. In his 
second he discovered a track which conducted him to an en- 
campment of ten Indians, asleep on the margin of a pond in 
Wakefield, whom he killed. On his return in triumph with 
their scalps, the bounty money amounted to quite a handsome 
sum. 

With forty-six men, he left Dunstable in April, 1725, on 
his third and last expedition, of which the disastrous issue 
filled the Province with the most poignant sorrow. His object 
was to attack the principal village of the Pequawketts, within 
the present bounds of Fryburg, Maine. Arriving on the 
west shore of Ossipee Lake, he built a stockade, in which he 
left a sick soldier with the surgeon and a guard of eight men. 
With the residue of his company he came near Pequawkett 
and encamped for the night. At their morning devotions they 
heard the report of a gun, and discovered an Indian standing 
at some distance on a point of land projecting into a pond. — 
Imagining that other Indians were near, they left their packs 
and marched forward to attack them; but found only the Indian 
who had stood on the point, returning homeward with his 
fowling pieces and some game, who after firing and wound- 
ing Lovewell, was himself slain. In the mean time a strong 
party of the enemy under the celebrated chiefs, Paugus and 
Wahwa, returning from a scout, fell in with the track of the 
English, which conducted them to the spot where their packs 
were deposited ; on counting which they ascertained then- 
number to be less than their own, and immediately formed an 
ambush to take them by surprise. On the return of Lovewell's 
men for their packs, the Indians rose up from their lurking- 
place, rushed upon them with their accustomed yells, and 
killed the Captain and eight of his company on the spot. — 



1725.] period v.— 1713— 1741. 73 

The survivors retreated to the shore of the pond, whore, 
sheltered hy a rocky point of land and some large pines, they 
kept the enemy at bay for some hours and finally compelled 
them to draw off. When the shattered remnant of this gallant 
band collected themselves together for retreat, they found 
three of their number so badly wounded as to be unable to 
move from the bloody field, whom with the deepest grief they 
left behind ; eleven others wounded, but able to march ; and 
only nine unhurt. They began their march at the rising of 
the moon, and in the course of their return Lieut. Farwell, 
the Rev. Mr. Fry of Andover, their Chaplain, a young Cler- 
gyman of estimable character, and one other person perished 
in the woods for want of dressings for their wounds. 

For the numbers engaged, this was among the most des- 
tructive rencontres that had occurred in New-England. — 
It was disastrous to the Indians, who lost their leader 
and many of their best warriors. Not long after the battle, 
Col. Tyng of Dunstable went to the spot with an armed force 
and buried the bodies of the slain, inscribing on the surroun- 
ding trees their names. He found some Indian graves which 
he opened, and among the disinterred bodies recognized that 
of the Chief Paugus, who was said to have fallen by a shot 
from one Chamberlain. 

During these occurrences three agents were sent into Can- 
ada, to complain of the conduct of the French authorities in 
furnishing arms and supplies to the Indians in a time of peace 
between England and France, and to obtain a release of the 
captives. Two of the Agents were from Massachusetts ; the 
third was Theodore Atkinson of New-Castle, N. H— a young 
man fast rising into eminence. He was the son of the Hon. 
Theodore Atkhison, a merchant and a Counsellor, who had 
died some years before. The French Governor, the Marquis 
de Vaudreuil, received them politely, but denied the charge 
of having excited the savages to war — on which Atkinson 
produced his correspondence with Ralle, furnishing ample 
proof of his hostile agency. This somewhat confused him ; 
but he palliated his conduct by accusing the English of 
treating them with injustice and oppression. Few of the 
captives were released at that time, and for those few an 
exhorbitant ransom was demanded. The Governor however 
promised to interpose his influence to dispose the Indians to 
peace, and the commission was not without a beneficial 
result. 

In September a marauding party of the enemy entered 
Dover and concealed themselves in a barn, where they found 
G 



74 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1726. 

an opportunity to kill two persons and wound another. This 
was John Evans : a profuse flow of blood from the wound 
made them think he was dead, and they stripped and scalped 
him without offering any additional violence. After they had 
left him he arose, and walked naked and bloody to an 
house, and to the astonishment of all recovered. This trag- 
edy wound up the scenes of the war. An Indian hostage 
who had been confined in Boston, and been permitted 
to visit his friends on parole, returned with pacific proposals, 
which led to an invitation to the principal Chiefs to repair to 
that place, where, at the close of the year a treaty was con- 
cluded and an era of peace restored. 

The cessation of war gave Massachusetts and New-Hamp- 
shire leisure to resume their discussions relative to the 
boundary lines. Massachusetts continued to assert her Charter 
claim to all the lands lying south and west of a line, beginning 
at a point three miles north of the mouth of the Merrimac, 
thence running west and north at the same distance of three 
miles from the river, to a point three miles beyond the parallel 
of the junction of the Winnepiseogee and Pemigewasset, in 
the present township of Sanbornton ; thence due west to 
the Connecticut: a claim which covered far the greater part of 
the Counties of Hillsborough, Merrimac, and Sullivan, and 
the whole of Cheshire. Aware that this construction of her 
Charter might be overruled by the King, her government was 
anxious to secure at least the property of these lands, should 
her pretensions to the jurisdiction be set aside. Influenced 
by such views, Massachusetts made grants of the townships 
of Concord and Pembroke in 1726 ; and in the course of a 
few subsequent years, of Amherst, Bedford, New-Boston, 
Hopkinton, Boscawen, Hillsborough, Keene, Swanzey and 
Peterboro'. New-Hampshire sent a Committee to Concord 
to forbid the surveyors employed by the rival Province in 
laying out the lands, to proceed in that business : and desirous 
of securing at least the property of the lands within her ac- 
knowledged jurisdiction, made grants of Epsom, Chichester, 
Barnstead, Canterbury, Gilmanton and Bow. The last named 
township being Avithin the limits claimed by Massachusetts, 
was probably granted by New-Hampshire as a practical asser- 
tion of her own claim to the territory in dispute. As the 
emigration of the Penacooks to the confines of Canada, had 
removed the obstacles arising from the vicinity of hostile 
neighbors, the settlement of Concord was commenced in 
1727 ; not long after, scattering settlers planted themselves all 
along the banks of the Merrimac from Dunstable to Boscawen ; 



1727.] period v.— 1713— 1741. 75 

and somewhat later, at Ilollis, Amherst, Winchester, Keene, 
and Swanzey. 

Of the immigrants who established themselves on the 
Merrimac and its western tributaries the greater part were 
from Massachusetts. They constituted a third class of the 
inhabitants — those on the Pascataqua making the first, and 
the Scottish settlers at Londonderry the second. Many years 
afterwards a fourth class was added to the number, consisting 
of immigrants from Connecticut, who planted themselves on 
the east bank of the river of that name. The Pascataqua, 
Londonderry, Merrimac, and Connecticut divisions of our 
population have exhibited, each one, down to this day, certain 
peculiarities, intellectual, moral, social and political, sufficiently 
indicative of the characteristics of its original. If the pecu- 
liarities of former generations in point of maimers, customs, 
and modes of thinking, so long display their influence on their 
descendants, how immensely important that the great princi- 
ples of religious truth and an attachment to correct moral 
habits be deeply impressed on the minds of the young. — 
"Train up a child in the way he should go," is a dictate not 
less of sound wisdom than of christian piety. 

The year last named is memorable on account of the second 
great earthquake that had shaken New-England. It happened 
on the evening of the twenty-ninth of October, about ten 
o'clock. The atmosphere was calm, the sky cloudless, and 
the moon walking in her brightness. The shock extended 
over a tract of some hundred miles in extent, shaking the 
buildings, throwing down the tops of chimneys, and making 
in some places clefts in the earth. No lives were lost. This 
event excited serious reflections in many a breast, and was 
followed in some of the towns by an improvement of morals, 
an increase of piety, and considerable accessions to the 
churches. 

Under the royal Government the same Assembly was often 
continued in existence for several years; being convened, 
prorogued, and dissolved at the pleasure of the Governor. — 
The Assembly had now subsisted for five years, when it was 
dissolved of course by the death of King George I. Writs 
of Election were issued in the name of George II. for a new 
Assembly, which met near the close of the year. This infre- 
quency of elections, which rendered the Representatives too 
independent of the people and subtracted from popular opin- 
ion much of its just weight in the government, was deemed 
a grievance : and efforts were made to obtain an act limiting 
the duration of the present and all future Assemblies to three 



76 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. ]1730. 

years. Lieut. Gov. Wentworth was disposed to give his as- 
sent, and an act to this effect called the Triennial Act, was 
carried through both branches of the Legislature. This gave 
the people great satisfaction, and was regarded as imparting 
additional security to their rights. 

Another change in the frame of the government was at- 
tempted, but not with the like success. Hitherto the Governor 
and Council had not only constituted a distinct branch of the 
Legislature, but had also exercised judicial powers, being a 
Court of Appeals whose decision was final except on an 
appeal to the King. Unwilling that the Council should exer- 
cise judicial as well as executive and legislative powers, 
especially as they decided causes without jury, the House of 
Representatives wished to repeal those acts which recognized 
them as a Court of Appeals. The Council resisted the prop- 
osition ; and when the controversy began to wax warm, 
Wentworth put an end to it by dissolving the Assembly. This 
measure made him enemies and embittered the residue of his 
administration. A new Assembly, composed chiefly of the 
same persons as the past, being convened and having chosen 
Nathaniel Weare of Hampton, Speaker, the Lieut. Governor 
negatived the choice : a power which had been claimed and 
exercised by the royal Governors. Irritated by the negative, 
they called in question his power in this point, and did no 
business for some days. After they had reluctantly chosen 
another Speaker, the messages from the Chair and the an- 
swers of the House exhibited an ill temper on both sides. 

William Burnet, distinguished for taste and literary ac- 
complishments, arrived in Boston, 1728, with a commission 
constituting him Governor of Massachusetts and New- 
Hampshire. His administration was short ; and in relation to 
this Province, into which he came but once, unimportant.— 
With the General Court of Massachusetts he renewed the old 
controversy on the subject of a permanent salary ; but died of 
a violent fever in a few months after his visit to Portsmouth. 

His successor as Governor was Jonathan Belcher, a native 
and merchant of Boston, a man of unblemished reputation, 
elegant manners, and ample fortune. Having after a short 
visit to New-Hampshire returned to Massachusetts in 1730, 
he made a discovery which resulted in a serious misunder- 
standing between himself and the Lieut. Governor. It was 
this: prior to his appointment as Governor, Wentworth, 
not knowing whether Gov. Shute who had been long absent, 
would return and resume the Chair, or Belcher be appointed 
in his stead, had written complimentary letters to both. This 



1730.] period v.— 1713— 1741. 77 

act the Governor regarded as deceptive raid dishonorable ; and 
at his second visit manifested his resentment hy refusing an 
invitation to the Lieut. Governor's house, by requiring him to 
quit all claims to salary except what Belcher might allow, and 
removing his family connections from their offices. If the 
act in question were improper, the Governor certainly carried 
his resentment too far. Wentworth died soon after these 
unpleasant occurrences ; but his sonBenning Wentworth, and 
his son in law Theodore Atkinson, who with their family 
connections wielded a powerful inilucncc, formed a party in 
opposition to Belcher, the effect of whose enmity he after- 
wards most sensibly felt. 

Trifling causes are often productive of consequences the 
most important. From the misunderstanding, trivial as it may 
seem, between Belcher and Wentworth, sprung that political 
party by whose exertions New-Hampshire obtained a separate 
Governor and a respectable extent of territory. Had it never 
occurred, it is quite probable the boundary lines might have 
been established far otherwise than they now are ; and not 
impossible that this Provice might finally have been reunited 
with Massachusetts. 

The character of Lieut. Gov, Wentworth presents many 
excellent traits. From his father, an exemplary Elder of the 
church in Dover, he received a christian education which 
exerted much influence on his subsequent life. For a time he 
followed the seas and commanded a ship, in which he carefully 
maintained the morning and evening worship of God. As a 
merchant, his integrity, benevolence and public spirit pro- 
cured him general esteem. He was charitable to the poor, 
courteous and affable to all, and attentive to the institutions 
of religion. For the most part of a period of thirteen years, 
some of them marked with the perplexities of an Indian war 
and a high degree of party excitement, he conducted the 
affairs of the Province with singular wisdom and moderation ; 
and with the exception of the controversy between him and 
the Assembly near the close of his administration, to the 
satisfaction of the people. He possessed their confidence and 
affection while living, and carried with him their respect when 
he descended to the grave. 

The progress of New-Hampshire in population and wealth 
was somewhat tardy. Within her acknowledged limits there 
were not at this time more than 1900 dwelling houses and 
10,000 inhabitants ; and that part of the Province granted and 
claimed by Massachusetts might perhaps contain three or four 
thousand more. The amount of shipping engaged in the 
G* 



78 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1731. 

foreign trade was about five hundred tons ; of seamen the 
number was only forty ; the exports were fish and lumber, in 
return for which were received English manufactures, West 
India productions, and salt from Portugal. The revenue ari- 
sing from customs and excise was less than £400, while the 
ordinary expense of government was £1500, the deficien- 
cy of the revenue being supplied by a tax on polls and estates. 
' David Dunbar, a native of Ireland and formerly a Colonel 
in the British army, was appointed Lieut. Gov. of the Province 
in 1731, and retained the office six years. He owed large 
debts to individuals in England, who favored his appointment 
from the motive of facilitating the recovery of their claims. 
He had the office also of Surveyor of the King's woods, 
which was of much greater pecuniary value than that of Lieut.^ 
Governor. Coming here with no other views than those of 
emolument, he was ready to follow the leadings of interest, 
which pointed to an union with the party opposed to the Gov- 
ernor. That party aimed at the removal of Belcher from 
his office, at the settlement of the boundary lines in such a 
manner as would make New-Hampshire respectable in extent, 
and at the appointment of a separate Governor who should 
have no connection with Massachusetts. Dunbar hoped by 
their aid to obtain the appointment himself, with the desirable 
adjunct of a handsome salary. He succeeded in obtaining 
for Benning Wentworth, Theodore Atkinson, and Joshua 
Pierce, a nomination to seats in the Council ; but the oppo- 
sition of the Governor delayed the admission of the two first 
to take the oath of office for a period of two years. In the 
mean time, they were able as popular leaders in the House to 
embarrass the measures of his administration. 

Belcher was perfectly aware of the designs of his opponents, 
and exerted himself, but without effect, to procure the recal of 
Dunbar : for some reason or other the English ministry re- 
tained him in office. He was not however admitted to a seat 
in the Council; Shadrach Walton of New-Castle presided 
over that Board in the absence of the Commander in Chief. 
A very considerable party who had a preponderating influence 
in the Council, was warmly attached to Gov. Belcher and to 
Massachusetts, and would have preferred an amalgamation 
with that Province rather than see New-Hampshire placed 
under a separate Governor. They were indifferent to the 
settlement of the boundary lines, alledging that the ungranted 
lands would be considered as belonging either to the King, or 
the heirs of Mason ; and in neither case would the people of 
New-Hampshire be allowed to participate in the property. — 



1735.] period v.— 171-5— 1741. 79 

The leading man of this party was Richard Waldron the 
Provincial Secretary ; whose; lather, Col. Richard Waldron, 
an eminent Merchant and Counsellor, had lately died, and 
whose grandfather was the celebrated Major Waldron, in old- 
en times the most conspicuous character in the Province. — 
The talents and virtues of Secretary Waldron sustained the 
high respectability the family had possessed for almost a 
century. 

Of the two parties, that opposed to the Governor was the 
more powerful, and had the address to persuade the majority 
of the people that it would be for the honor and interest of 
New-Hampshire to have no connection with Massachusetts ; 
that a portion of the waste lands would be granted to this 
Province ; and that the expense of obtaining a final settlement 
of the lines would hardly exceed " a pullet per man" Influ- 
enced by these views the House of Representatives, after one 
more ineffectual trial to accommodate the matter with the sis- 
ter Province, determined to refer it to the decision of the 
King. Without the concurrence of the Council they ap- 
pointed John Rindge, who was preparing to visit England on 
commercial business, their Agent to petition the King to es- 
tablish the boundary lines. The petition was presented and 
referred to the Lords of Trade, and Rindge on his departure 
from London in 1732 left the business in the hands of John 
Tomlinson, Esq., a shrewd, active, and persevering man, to 
whose unremitting exertions this State is indebted for a large 
slice of its present territory. A more efficient Agent could 
not have been found. He employed as his solicitor a Mr. 
['arris, who performed his part with much address ; and the 
two proved an overmatch for the agents on the side of Mas- 
sachusetts. 

Mr. Tomlinson was ready to promote the religious as well 
as political interests of New-Hampshire. Several persons in 
Portsmouth, attached to the liturgy and forms of the Episco- 
pal church, having undertaken to erect a chapel, he contribu- 
ted largely himself, and procured benefactions from others in 
London, among whom was the Queen, who gave several folio 
prayer books and a service of plute for the altar. In acknowl- 
edgment of her bounty the building was called Queen's chapel. 
A few years afterwards, the Rev. Arthur Browne became the 
minister of this church, with an allowance of the greater part 
of a salary from the Society in England for propogating the 
gospel in foreign parts. 

A severe check was given to the progress of population inl735 
by the prevalence of the Malignant Throat Distemper, which 



80 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1737. 

bewail its ravages at Kingston, and gradually spread over this 
and other British Provinces from Maine to Carolina. In little 
more than a year a thousand persons, chiefly children, died in 
New-Hampshire. Twenty families in Hampton Falls buried all 
their children. The death of twenty thousand persons at this 
day would be scarcely a greater mortality in proportion to the 
present population. This epidemic has revisited the country 
at different times since, but with a virulence considerably di- 
minished. 

The two political parties continued their dissensions with 
increasing animosity. Belcher, ardent in his feelings and 
unguarded in expression, threw out many reflections on his 
opponents, while on their part they were not wautiug in rep- 
resenting him as indifferent to the King's interest, partial to 
Massachusetts, opposed to the settlement of the lines, and 
ready to connive at the destruction of the King's timber on the 
waste lands. The letters of the leading partisans to their 
correspondents in England were filled with mutual crimina- 
tions. The Governor represented Dunbar as perfidious and 
malicious, " a plague to the Governor aud a deceiver of the 
people," and not only excluded him from a seat in the Coun- 
cil, but conferred on Walton the senior Counsellor, the 
rommand of the fort and the granting of passes for ships and 
of licenses for marriage : — powers which had been formerly 
exercised by the Lieut. Governor, and which were the sources 
of no inconsiderable part of his emoluments. Reduced by 
these measures to a state of insignificance, Dunbar retired into 
Maine and was long absent from New-Hampshire. 

Not only was he an object of suspicion to Belcher, but of 
dislike to many of the people. As Surveyor General of the 
King's woods" he had acted with extreme rigor, visiting the 
sawmills, siezing and marking large quantities of timber, and 
then throwing on the owners the burden of proving their 
property : a procedure which exposed him to insults and in 
one instance excited a riot. His unpopularity notwithstanding, 
he was courted by the party opposed to the Governor, un- 
der the impression that his influnece with the English Ministry 
might aid in procuring for New-Hampshire the appointment 
of another Governor. Full of the hope of obtaining the ap- 
pointment for himself, he returned in 1737 to England, but 
was there imprisoned by his old creditors. By the interference 
of Tomlinson he was * liberated ; but not having sufficient 
influence to obtain the office he sought, he never returned to 
America. After a few years he was appointed Governor of 



1740] period v.— 1713— 1741. 81 

the Island of St. Helena, since so celebrated as the prison of 
Napoleon Bournaparte. 

Tomlinson in the mean time supported the petition of 
New-Hampshire with all his address, and obtained a royal 
order constituting a Board of Commissioners, to be selected 
from the Counsellors of the neighboring Provinces, with pow- 
er to settle the contested lines. This Board met at Hampton, 
August, 1737 ; and in a few days the Assemblies of the two 
contending Provinces met in the same neighborhood, that of 
Massachusetts at Salisbury and that of New-Hampshire at 
Hampton Falls. At the head of two Provinces, each jealous 
of the designs of the other, the Governor had a part to act of 
no little delicacy. Massachusetts not only asserted her right 
to all the lands south and west of a line drawn three miles 
from the left bank of the Merrimac up to the confluence of 
its two main branches, but also contended that the eastern 
boundary of New-Hampshire should be a line drawn from 
the mouth of the Pascataqua to the source of the Salmon 
Falls branch, and then due north-west, which would have cut 
off from New-Hampshire small portions of Strafford and 
Grafton, and almost the whole of Coos County. New-Hamp- 
shire claimed for her southern boundary a line drawn due 
west from a point three miles north of the mouth of the 
Merrimac ; and for her eastern, a line passing up the Pascata- 
qua to the source of Salmon Falls river, and thence north one 
or two degrees west. After an infinity of pleas, replications, 
rejoinders, exceptions, and protests, the Commissioners agreed 
on a result which established the eastern line as it now runs, 
but left the southern undetermined. 

It was seen by all parties that this protracted controversy 
could be brought to a close only by a royal decision. The 
Agents of bothProvinces submitted to the King their respec- 
tive claims; the "petition of appeal" on the part of this 
Province was drawn up by Parris, in which he artfully rep- 
resented "the poor, little, loyal, distressed Province of New- 
Hampshire" as in danger of being devoured by "the vast, 
opulent, overgrown Province of Massachusetts." A decision 
was not obtained till 1740, when the king terminated the dis- 
pute more favorably for New-Hampshire than she had ever 
ventured to anticipate, and established the eastern and south- 
ern lines as they now run. The substitution of the present 
southern line in lieu of one running due west from a point 
three miles north of the mouth of the Merrimac, gave New- 
Hampshire a territory of fifty miles in length, by fourteen in 
breadth more than she had ever claimed. 



82 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1740. 

To Massachusetts this result was extremely mortifying. — 
In the whole management of the affair, her agents had been 
altogether surpassed in point of dexterity and address, by 
those of this Province. This however was not the only rea- 
son of her failure — her inflexible refusal to settle a permanent 
salary on the royal Governors had excited in England a spirit 
of resentment, and awakened in the Ministry a jealousy that 
she was aiming at independence. From these feelings arose 
a disposition to punish her obstinacy and cramp her ambition, 
by diminishing her extent and importance. 

The next year the lines were run and marked. From the 
ocean to a station three miles north of Patucket Falls, the 
line was surveyed by George Mitchell. Richard Hazen began 
at that station, forming a corner of Pelham, and marked the 
line running west across the Connecticut river to the suppo- 
sed boundary of New-York. Walter Bryant marked the 
East line from the head of Salmon Falls river about thirty 
miles, when the difficulties of travelling in the wilderness and 
some fears of the Indians induced him to desist. 

While this important affair had been pending in England, 
the opponents of Gov. Belcher had not intermitted 
their efforts to effect his removal. In one instance the 
base arts of forgery were employed against him. A letter 
was sent to England purporting to have been written by some 
of the people of Exeter, accusing him of having encouraged 
them to cut the king's timber, by a promise of screening them 
from prosecution. The forgery was indeed detected, but not 
till it had produced an impression unfavorable to his charac- 
ter. A petition was forwarded, signed by several leading men 
in Portsmouth, charging him with suffering the Fort in the 
harbor of Pascataqua to fall into ruin, neglecting the disci- 
pline of the Militia, and hindering the prosperity and growth 
of the Province. These attacks had subjected him in 1739 to 
a reprimand from the king : but having some powerful friends 
among the Lords in office, he stood his ground awhile longer. 
His friends in this Province made all the efforts in their pow- 
er to support him, and procured the signatures of 500 of the 
inhabitants to a petition for his continuance in office. But a 
still greater number petitioned for his removal, and the Assem- 
bly passed a resolution of disapprobation of his administration. 
His friends, particularly the inhabitants of the new towns 
settled by people from Massachusetts, attached as they were 
to their former government and institutions, would have gladly 
seen New-Hampshire annexed to that Province, and petitioned 



1741.] period v.— 1713— 1741. 83 

to that effect, but without success. The British Government 
in 1741 removed him from the Chair. 

He immediately repaired to England, and was able to exhi- 
bit such convincing proofs of his own integrity and of the 
misrepresentations of his opposers, as in a great measure ef- 
faced all unfavorable impressions ; and he soon obtained the 
appointment of Governor of New-Jersey. In that Province 
he passed his remaining days in peace, and his memory is 
held there in high respect. Of Princeton College he was a 
Founder and liberal Benefactor. It is now generally admitted 
that his difficulties in Massachusetts and New-Hampshire 
arose from a warm and quick temper, and not from any want 
of integrity. His religious character possessed much excel- 
lence ; no man more carefully redeemed time from the 
business of the world for the study of the Holy Scriptures, 
and the performance of the various duties of Christian devo- 
tion. 

From the close of the short administration of Governor 
Allen in 1G99, through a period of more than forty years, 
Massachusetts and New-Hampshire, though each had its sep- 
arate Lieutenant Governor and Legislative Assembly, had 
been placed under the administration of the same Governor. 
As he generally resided at Boston, this arrangement made 
New-Hampshire a kind of appendage to Massachusetts, and 
had become disagreeable to the people. The enlargement of 
their territory, population and wealth, by the settlement of 
the boundary lines, gave them a higher sense of their own 
political importance ; and in anticipation of this result they 
had for some time been desirous to have a separate Governor 
of their own. It was now determined in England to gratify 
their wishes, and Benning Wentworth of Portsmouth, the 
warmest opponent of Belcher, received the appoint- 
ment of Governor and Commander in Chief of New- 
Hampshire. He was a son of the former Lieut. Governor 
Wentworth, a reputable merchant, and a favorite with a ma- 
jority of the people. With civil life he had been quite con- 
versant as a Representative and Member of the Council. 

The series of incidents which paved his way to the chair 
is quite interesting. He had contracted with a Spanish officer 
to furnish a large quantity of oak timber, to the amount of 
50,000 or 60,000 dollars ; but on the delivery of it in Spain, 
the officer with whom he had contracted was out of place, 
and his successor declined to make payment. This disap- 
pointment was followed by the disaster of a shipwreck as he 
was returning home, and he with others was saved in a boat. 



84 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1741 

Reduced to bankruptcy and repulsed in an application to the 
Spanish government for redress, he laid before the British 
ministry his wrongs and misfortunes. The appeal procured 
him their sympathy, and together with his popularity and the 
rank of his family, backed by the influence of Tomlinson, 
induced them to appoint him to the Chief Magistracy of his 
native Province. Invested with this honorable office he ar- 
rived at Portsmouth after a long absence, near the close of 
1741, and was received with great cordiality and respect.— 
The Assembly granted him a handsome salary ; and not long 
after, Dunbar was prevailed on by a valuable consideration 
to resign in his favor the office of Surveyor General of the 
King's woods, the emoluments of which made a large addi- 
tion to his income. In consideration of those appointments, 
he was required to relinquish his claim on the Spanish Gov- 
ernment. 

The fact that no public crcecution took place here for a 
period of almost 120 years, gives a favorable impression of 
the early state of morals. Two women were executed at 
Portsmouth near the close of this period for the crime of 
murder : the first occurrence of the kind in the Province. 

In the course of the twenty-eight years sketched in this 
Chapter, the community lost by death, in addition to Love- 
well^ Col. Richard Waldron, and Lieut. Gov. Wentworth, 
already named as deceased, other distinguished members. — 
The Rev. Nathaniel Rogers, the second Pastor of the first 
Church in Portsmouth died in 1723, greatly beloved ; of whom 
his people were accustomed to speak as " the good Mr. Rog- 
ers !" He was the sixth in lineal descent from John Rogers, 
the well known martyr in the reign of Queen Mary. In 1726 
died Samuel Peuhallow, who had been Provincial Treasurer 
and Chief Justice of the Superior Court. His History of 
Indian Wars has been useful to subsequent historians, and his 
hospitality, charity, and piety rendered his character respecta- 
ble. Doctor Thomas Packer, who was not only the principal 
Physician and Surgeon of his day, but also Judge of Probate 
and Counsellor, deceased in 17*28 ; and in 1734, the Rev. 
John Emerson, the first Pastor of the second Congregational 
Church in Portsmouth, who used to deliver a commemorative 
discourse in each year after the great earthquake of 1717, on 
the anniversary of its occurrence — a circumstance indicative 
of the strong impression it made on the public mind. John 
Rindge, the late Provincial Agent in England, whose efforts 
had contributed much to the final settlement of the boundary 
lines, died in 1740. 



PERIOD VI. 



FROM THE SETTLEMENT OF THE BOUNDARY LINES AND THE 
ACCESSION OF BENNING WENTWORTH TO THE CHAIR IN 1741, 
TO THE CLOSE OF THE SECOND FRENCH WAR IN 1763. 

To the party who had obtained the recal of his predecessor, 
the accession of Gov. Wentworth was a triumph. As might 
have been expected, among his first measures were numerous 
and important changes among the office-holders. Secretary 
Waldron was suspended from his seat in the Council and 
removed from his other offices ; being succeeded as Secretary 
by Theodore Atkinson, and as Judge of Probate by Andrew 
Wiggin. Most of the offices of consequence were bestowed 
on the kindred and connections of the Governor — such indeed 
was the accumulation of office and power in his family, that 
the Government of New-Hampshire during his administration 
and that of his nephew and successor, has been styled, not 
unfitly, A Family Government. 

This period is memorable as the date of a remarkable 
attention to religion which overspread most of the northern 
Provinces. It began some years before at North Hampton, 
Ms. under the ministry of President Edwards, and extended 
gradually through Massachusetts, Connecticut, and sections of 
New-York, New-Jersey and Pennsylvania. It was at its 
height in 1742. Two years before this date, that eloquent and 
successful itinerant, the Rev. George Whitfield, came into 
this region by invitation of the ministers of Boston, and 
preached in various parts of the country. He visited this 
Province and preached with his usual acceptance and success. 
Perhaps no uninspired preacher ever possessed such power 
over the feelings of his auditors, or was attended by such 
multitudes as he sometimes addressed in the fields, no building 
being large enough to contain them. His ministry aroused to 
serious reflection numbers who had before been thoughtless 
and inattentive hearers, and large additions were made to 
II 



36 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1744, 

raany of the churches. Though extravagancies on the part 
of some individuals attended this remarkable scene, especially 
in the southern parts of New-England, yet it is certain great 
good was done ; many places exhibited a new moral aspect ; 
and multitudes who then received their first religious impres- 
sions, gave ample evidence of the genuineness of their piety by 
the usefulness, benevolence, and integrity of their subsequent 
conduct. Mr. Whitfield, who was a native of England, 
crossed the Atlantic several times, and probably labored more 
indefatigably than almost any other man since the Apostolic 
age. His ministry excited not less attention in Britain than 
in this country. He confined his preaching to the plain truths 
of the Bible, which he stated with such clearness and enforced 
with such power, as to be the means of communicating the 
pure principles of religion to thousands on both sides of the 
Atlantic. Many who came to his meetings strongly prejudiced 
against him, went away with altered views of their own char- 
acter and of the importance of Christianity. His character 
was happily drawn by the poet Cowper : — 

"He loved the world that hated him ; the tear 
That dropp'd upon his Bible, was sincere : 
Assailed by scandal and the tongue of strife, 
His only answer was a blameless life." 

War had existed for some time between England and Spain, 
and it had been anticipated that France, attached to Spain by 
the relationship of their royal families, would be likely to 
become a party engaged. This expectation was realized in 
1744, when a declaration of war on the part of England against 
France again involved this country in hostilities with the 
Canadians and Indians. Duquesnel, the French Governor of 
Louisburg in the Island of Cape Breton, attacked and destroyed 
the English settlement at Canseau, and menaced their posts 
in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. This early disaster led 
the Colonists to percieve that Louisburg, in the hands of an 
active enemy would be a source of perpetual alarm to the 
commerce, fisheries, and settlements of all the eastern shores, 
and inspired them with a strong wish for its reduction. It 
had been fortified at a vast expense by the labors of twenty- 
five years, and was extremely well situated for the purpose of 
annoying the New-England trade. A plan for its capture 
was conceived by William Vaughan, an enterprising merchant 
of Portsmouth and son of the former Lieut. Gov. Vaughan ; 
and was adopted and matured chiefly by Gov. Shirley of 



1745.] period vi.— 1741— 17f>3. 87 

Massachusetts, who had succeeded Belcher in the Chair of 
that Province. He communicated it to the General Court in 
Boston under an oath of secrecy, who niter a warm debate 
approved it hy a majority of only one. 

At a meeting of the New-Hampshire Assembly in January. 
1745, he disclosed the scheme to that body, and found it 
warmly seconded both by them and by Gov. Wentworth. — 
They immediately raised 450 men, of whom 800 were formed 
into a regiment of eight companies under Col. Samuel Moore : 
the others were attached to one of the Massachusetts regi- 
ments. Mr. Samuel Langdon, afterwards a minister of 
Portsmouth and President of Harvard College, went as 
Chaplain of the New-Hampshire troops. The combined 
forces of the four New-England Colonies made up a large 
body, the whole commanded by Col. William Pepperell of 
Kitterv, Maine, one of the most popular men of the day. — 
At his' request the celebrated Mr. Whitfield, being then in this 
country, gave to be inscribed on the flag a motto : it was this — 
" NU desperandum, Christo duce." * Having been joined on 
the passage by several British men of war under Commodore 
Warren, the troops arrived at their destination in April, effected 
a landing and invested the place. Such was the inexperience 
in military affairs of both officers and men, that the scene 
was said to have resembled rather the disorder of a College 
Commencement than the regular operations of a disciplined 
army. To many, it was matter of wonder that the army was 
preserved from destruction. But the French had been taken 
by surprise, and the garrison was in almost a mutinous state 
at the delay of their pay. Could their officers have depended 
on the men, they might have easily surprised the Provincial 
camp and put numbers to the sword. Disunited among them- 
selves, and disheartened at the capture by the English of a 
large store ship from France richly laden with supplies for the 
garrison, they surrendered the city in June. On entering 
and beholding the strength of the fortifications, the victors were 
astonished at their own success ! The event filled America 
with joy, and even in Europe it was regarded as a capital 
exploit ;"for next to Quebec, Louisburg was the strongest hold 
of the French in the western hemisphere. While the services 
of the civil officers who matured the plan, and of the military 
and naval commanders who executed it, were amply requited 
by the British government— Vaughan,the original projector,re- 
ceived no adequate reward, and died the next year in London. 



F The import is, With the help of Christ nothing is impossible. 



SB HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1746. 

The progress of population had much enlarged the extent 
of the settlements, and a force proportionally increased was 
necessary for their protection. A line drawn from Rochester 
and Barrington, to Boscawen and Concord ; thence through 
Hopkinton, Hillsboro' and Peterboro' to Keene, Swanzey, 
Winchester, and Hinsdale, then constituted the frontier line. 
The whole region north of it, with the exception of small 
openings at Westmoreland and Charlestown, occupied by a 
few families, was a gloomy forest — a fit lurking place for 
savages. On the west hank of the Connecticut, opposite to 
Hinsdale and within the present limits of Brattleboro', was 
Fort Dummer, originally built and garrisoned by Massachu- 
setts. The settlement of the line left it within the limits of 
New-Hampshire, then supposed to extend westward beyond 
the Green Mountains. Though urged to do it by Gov. 
Wentworth, her Assembly declined to support the Fort, on the 
plea of their poverty, its distance from the towns granted by 
them, and the deep interest Massachusetts had in its preserva- 
tion. It would have been no more than equitable for New- 
Hampshire to have shared the burden, as some of her towns 
received protection from it ; but as she was inflexible in her 
refusal, the sister Province continued to furnish and sustain a 
garrison. The people on the whole line of the frontier were 
in imminent danger. They could hardly venture out to milk 
their cows ; the Indians destroyed their crops by breaking 
down the fences and laying open the fields ; and their horses 
and cattle were killed. Into Westmoreland and Keene the 
enemy made incursions, and a few persons were slain. 

Early in 1746 an event, sufficiently important to make the 
people forget for a time the ravages of war, terminated the 
tedious controversy between them and the Proprietor. This 
was the sale by Mason's heir of his whole claim on the soil 
of New-Hampshire to a company of gentlemen in Portsmouth. 
It had been discovered some years before, that there was a 
defect in the conveyance from Mason to Allen in 1691, and 
that the legal title still remained in the heir of Mason. Tom- 
linson had negociated in behalf of theProvince a purchase of 
the claim from Mason : but the Assembly unwisely delayed 
to ratify the contract. Mason at length informed them that if 
they delayed much longer, he should sell his claim to others 
who stood ready to make the purchase. Startled by this 
intimation they concluded to ratify the contract, on condition 
that the ungranted lands should be granted at the pleasure of 
the House of Representatives only. To this condition the 
Council warmly objected ; it was their wish to refer the 



1746.] period vi.— 1741— 1763. 89 

granting of lands to the King, under the expectation that he 
would commit this important power not to the Assembly, but 
to themselves. While the two branches were thus disputing 
on the terms of purchase, the Portsmouth gentlemen took the 
bargain out of their hands. Both the Assembly and the 
people resented their interference, and not a few angry threats 
were thrown out against them : but the popular indignation 
was much abated t by the prudent"measure on their part of 
quitclaiming all the towns previously granted by New-Hamp- 
shire ; and afterwards, all those which had been granted by 
Massachusetts. These concessions quieted all the inhabitants 
in their claims, and prevented any strenuous opposition to the 
title acquired by the purchasers to the ungranted lands. As 
they pursued a judicious course in making grants, and promo- 
ting the settlement of these lands, the public mind was grad- 
ually reconciled to the course the affair had taken ; and the 
interests of the Masonian Proprietors, as these purchasers 
were called, became identified with the interests of the people 
in general. These gentlemen were Theodore Atkinson, Mark 
H. Wentworth, Richard Wibird, John Wentworth, George 
Jaffrey, Samuel Moore, Nathaniel Meserve, Thomas Packer, 
Thomas Wallingford, Jotham Odiorne, Joshua Pierce, and 
John Moffat — the leading men of wealth and business of 
that day. Among the terms on which they granted lands 
were the following : that the grantees within a given period 
should erect a meeting house ; settle a minister ; lay out a right 
of land for the first settled minister, another for a Parsonage, 
and a third for schools ; clear out roads, and erect mills. 

Encouraged by the spendid success at Louisburg, the Colo- 
nists concerted a plan for the reduction of Canada and raised 
numerous forces for this purpose, of which a New-Hampshire 
regiment under Col. Atkinson formed a part ; the whole to 
be joined by a powerful fleet and army expected from England. 
From some want of vigor in the British councils, this force 
never left England, and the Colonial troops wore away the 
summer in idly awaiting their arrival. This inactivity left 
the Indians at leisure to infest the frontiers, and slay or capti- 
vate persons at Charlestown, Boscawen, Swanzey, Hinsdale, 
and Rochester. Often did the war whoop " wake the sleep of 
the cradle." A band of fifty savages hid themselves at night in a 
swamp at Keene, intending in the morning to surprise the peo- 
ple in garrison. By a man, who happened out quite early, they 
were discovered in season to prevent the surprise ; and after 
burning some houses and killing one or two unhappy persons 
found without the Fort, they drew off. Another party entered 
H* 



90 HISTORY Or NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1746. 

a house in Hopkinton in which the inmates were fast asleep, 
the door having been left open by one who had gone out early 
to hunt, and captivated eight persons. This disaster spread 
such alarm in the vicinity, that the few families planted in 
Hillsborough deserted their habitations and retired to places of 
safety, from which they did not return till after the lapse of 
fifteen years. These people had erected an house for religious 
worship, which, during their protracted absence, some reckless 
hunters, happening that way? set on fire; from no other motives 
it has been said, than an idea that the owners would never 
return, and a wish to enjoy the pleasure, such as it was, of 
seeing it burn ! To prevent the destruction of the towns on 
Connecticut rh er, Massachusetts sent a company commanded 
by the gallant and celebrated Capt. Phinehas Stevens, to oc- 
cupy a fort which had been built at Charlestown in the very 
teeth of the enemy. To maintain this position required great 
vigilance and resolution. Some of the men going out on an 
excursion, fell in with a party of Indians who fired on them 
and attempted to cut off their retreat, when Stevens marched 
out to their relief and beat off the enemy. At another time 
he went into the meadow with a body of men to look for some 
horses. The dogs discovered a concealed party of savages, 
who after a sharp conflict retreated, carrying off their dead, 
and leaving behind so many of their arms and equipments, as 
were sold for a sum which was reckoned " a great booty from 
such beggarly enemies." 

Though the chief weight of savage hostilities now fell on 
the western and central towns, the eastern did not altogether 
escape. A party of Indians rushed upon five men working 
in a field at Rochester, who fled for their lives into a house 
not far distant. Here they found but a momentary refuge— 
the enemy stripped off the roof and entered the building, 
killing some and making prisoners of the rest. 

The people of Winchester being in want of bread, Gol. 
Wiilard of that place went with a guard of twenty men to a 
mill in Hinsdale to grind corn. Scarcely was the guard set, 
when they received from the lurking enemy a fire which they 
returned with spirit. With a loud and animating voice 
Wiilard ordered his men to rush upon them ; the savages, 
inferring from this that they were numerous, fled in such 
haste as to leave behind " what Indians never leave if they can 
avoid it, their packs and provisions." 

In August, one hundred Indians concealed themselves in the 
woods about Concord, intending to make an attack on the 
next Sabbath. Happily some troops from Massachusetts, and 



1746.] period vi._ 1741— 17C3. 91 

a company from Exeter under Capt. Ladd arrived in town in 
season to afford protection, forming in the whole a consider- 
able force. Aware that the enemy was lurking around, the 
inhabitants on the sabbath went armed to the meeting, and 
after the religious services marched out of the Church in a 
body, presenting a front so imposing that the savages did not 
venture an assault. The next morning seven of the Concord 
people on their Avay to Hopkinton were waylaid, five of the 
number slain, and two made prisouers. Jonathan Bradley, a 
man of singular intrepidity, being offered quarter, refused to 
accept it, and was not killed till he had sustained for some 
time a desperate conflict with a great superiority of numbers. 

In Autumn a report of the arrival in the eastern waters of 
a powerful fleet and army from France, under the command 
of the Duke de Anville, for the purposes of recovering Lou- 
isburg and ravaging the coasts of New-England, excited great 
alarm and led to every possible preparation to repel the ap- 
prehended invasion. Col. Atkinson's regiment was employed 
in fortifying the harbor of Pascataqua. A day of fasting and 
prayer was observed at this crisis in some portions of the 
country with unusual solemnity ; and on the veiy next night 
a violent tempest shattered the French fleet. The coincidence 
of the Fast and the Tempest was much noticed by the people 
of that day as a remarkable interposition of Divine Provi- 
dence. This disaster, added to the losses which had been 
occasioned by a mortal sickness among the crews and troops, 
of whom eleven hundred were buried at Halifax, besides 
hundreds thrown overboard, so dejected the French Com- 
mander that he ended his life by poison, and the second in 
command fell on his own sword. The remains of this great 
armament returned to France, without having effected any 
thing cither for the interest or honor of* their nation. 

On the approach of winter the garrison at Charlestown 
was withdrawn, and many of the scattered inhabitants of 
that region, being left without protection, abandoned their 
dwellings. Whatever of their effects they could, they car- 
ried off; much of what could not be transported was buried 
in the earth ; and the residue, together with their buildings 
left to be destroyed by the en: !i iv. When the alarm of the 
French invasion was past, Atkinson's regiment marched to 
Winnepiseogee for the defence of the frontiers, and passed 
the winter in an encampment on the margin of the lake. — 
Annapolis in Nova Scotia being exposed to an attack by the 
French and Indians, two hundred men from this Province 
sailed eastward to unite with other forces in defending tho 



92 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1748. 

town. By some mismanagement, the most of them returned 
home without having even landed at the place of destination. 
The Massachusetts troops in that quarter, disappointed of 
their aid and inferior in number to the enemy, were attacked 
at Minas in a snow storm, and after losing their Commander 
and having one hundred men killed or wonnded, were com- 
pelled to surrender. 

The spring of 1747 brought with it a renewal of savage 
devastations. Capt. Stevens returned to Charlestown with a 
company of rangers, and found the fort there in the same 
condition in which he left it the preceding autumn. In a 
few days the incessant barking of the dogs announced the 
approach of a body of 400 French and Indians commanded 
by Dubeline. Frustrated in their design of taking Stevens 
by surprise, they set fire to the surrounding fences and log 
houses and attempted to burn the fort by shooting flaming 
arrows. These efforts, accompanied with horrid shouts and 
yells, they continued two days. The French commander 
next employed various threats and artifices to induce the gar- 
rison to surrender, but his attempts failed: — these brave men 
resolved to perish rather than yield. A renewal of attacks and 
shouts on the part of the enemy then followed,but with no bet- 
ter success. On the third day they offered to retire if Stevens 
would sell them provisions. Having received a decisive refusal 
they fired a few more guns ; this done, they drew off inalmost a 
starving condition. By this brave defence he acquired much 
honor, and received from the British Commander Sir Charles 
Knowles, then at Boston, the present of an elegant sword — 
a circumstance which gave the township, when afterwards 
incorporated, the name of Charlestown. Other and smaller 
parties of the enemy went further east and did mischiefs in 
Rochester, Concord, Pembroke and Nottingham. Bridg- 
man's fort near Hinsdale was burnt by the Indians in Au- 
tumn and several persons slain. 

The death of James Carr of Pembroke, who was killed by the 
enemy early in 1748, was attended with a singular instance of 
canine attchment and fidelity. He with two others was plow- 
ing on the west bank of the river, within the present township 
of Bow. Towards night some Indians, who, concealed in a 
thicket of bushes, had been watching them all day, rushed up- 
on them ; his two companions were taken ; but in attempting 
to run to the river, Carr was shot and fell dead on his back with 
his arms somewhat extended. As the savages ran up to scalp 
him, his dog, a large and fierce animal, instantly attacked them ; 
but was stunned by the blow of a tomahawk and left for dead. 



1748.] period vi.— 1741— 1763. 93 

The people in garrison at Pembroke heard the firing, but it 
being near night did not venture on an immediate pursuit, from 
the apprehension of falling into an ambuscade. After the de- 
parture of the enemy the dog revived, guarded the corpse of 
his master through the night; and was found next morning 
with his nose laid in its open hand ; nor would the faithful an- 
imal permit any one to remove or even touch the body, till 
after the use of much flattery and some force. 

Several men belonging to Fort Hinsdale having been killed 
or made prisoners, Capt. Hobbs, the second in command at 
Charlestown, was sent with a ranging party of forty men to 
scour the woods west of Connecticut river. Having halted to 
refresh his men at a spot a few miles west of Brattleborough, he 
was suddenly attacked by 150 savages. Promptly placing his 
men behind the shelter of trees, he maintained a combat of 
three hours, and whenever the foe attempted to rush upon him, 
the fire of his sharp shooters drove them back. They at length 
retired, carrying off their dead and leaving the ground profusely 
sprinkled with their blood. In this fierce engagement Hobbs 
lost but three of his men. The defeated Indians were not 
however deterred from further efforts ; they not long after at- 
tacked a party of seventeen men in Hinsdale, and killed or made 
prisoners a majority of the number. 

Peace was re-established between England and France by 
the treaty of Aix la Chapelle in October. The good news soon 
crossed the Atlantic and was followed by a treaty with the In- 
dians, concluded at Portland. Prisoners were to be restored 
without ransom, and conquests made during the war to be giv- 
en up. The English captives had been treated with far more 
humanity than in any former war. Of deliberate murder or 
torture there was not a single instance ; the old practice of ma- 
king prisoners run the gauntlet was chiefly discontinued ; and 
often, when sick or feeble, they were assisted to travel, and in 
times of pinching scarcity received an equal allowance of pro- 
visions with the captors themselves. 

If we imagine the Indians to be altogether unsusceptible of 
the finer feelings of humanity, we do them injustice. Of their 
moderation Belknap relates the following instance : " An In- 
dian surprised a man at Ashuelot ; the man asked for quarter 
and it was granted. While the Indian was preparing to bind 
him, he seized his gun and shot him in the arm. The Indian 
however secured him, but took no other revenge than to say 
with a kick, ' You dog, how could you treat me so?' " A little 
incident which occurred soon after the war, exhibits striking 
traits of their sympathy and humanity. A party of their war- 
riors came to Concord and encamped near the house of the 



94 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1749. 

Rev. Mr. Walker, who was much respected by them as well as 
beloved by his parishioners. He being from home, his wife 
expressed apprehensions of danger. The Indians remarked 
to each other, " Minister's wife afraid." To allay her fears they 
gave up their guns, left them in her possession till they were 
ready to depart, and treated her with courtesy and respect. 

Some of the Ecclesiastical transactions which had occurred 
during the war, demand a brief notice. In 1745, the Rev. 
Messrs. Moorhead of Boston, McGregor of Londonderry, 
and Abercrombie of Pelham, Ms. formed the first Presbytery 
in New-England, called the Boston Presbytery. Thirty years 
afterwards, its numbers having been much increased, this 
body was divided into three, called the First Eastern Presby- 
tery, the Presbytery of Londonderry, and the Presbytery of 
Palmer, united in one Synod, called the Synod of New-Eng- 
land, which subsisted some years and held its annual meet- 
ings at Londonderry. The first and third of these Presbyteries 
became extinct: that of Londonderry still subsists, and 
includes all the Presbyterian Ministers and Churches, eleven 
in number, now in the State. The Congregational Ministers 
of the Province, of whom at that period there were more 
than thirty, formed a Convention in 1747 to meet annually for 
the purposes of mutual improvement and consultation on 
the interests of religion. The meetings of this body, origi- 
nally holden in Portsmouth, are now holden at Concord on 
the week of Election. 

The influx of immigrants from Massachusetts had doubled 
the population of New-Hampshire in eighteen years. It 
amounted in 1749 to thirty thousand. The enterprising men 
of the day, who were projecting new settlements, bcg°an to 
turn their attention to the fine country forming the present 
State of Vermont. It was claimed by New-Hampshire on 
the grounds, that the king allowed her southern line to extend 
to the w T est till it met his Majesty's other Provinces; and as 
Connecticut and Massachusetts extended to a line drawn 
twenty miles east of the Hudson, that New- Hampshire ought 
to have an equal extension westward. This was contested 
by New- York for the following reasons : that her chartered 
limits extended eastward to the Connecticut river ; that her 
concessions of territory to the Provinces of Connecticut and 
Massachusetts gave no right to New-Hampshire to demand 
further concessions ; and that her Eastern boundary, north 
of Massachusetts, ought of course to extend to the limit pre- 
scribed by the charter. As a practical assertion of the claim 
of New-Hampshire, Gov. Wentworth granted the town of 



1749.] period vi.~ 1741— 1763. 95 

Bennington, and two or three years afterwards several other 
townships west of the river; till the second French war in- 
terrupted the business of granting and settling new lands. 

On the expiration of the triennial period for which the 
Assembly was elected, a new one met in 1749, between whom 
and Gov. Wentworth arose warm and protracted altercations. 
They chose Richard YValdron, the former Secretary, who had 
been for some years in retirement from public life, Speaker 
of the House. The Governor negatived the choice. They 
complained of his negative as a breach of their privilege; as 
being, if not an usurpation, yet an abuse of power ; and re- 
fused to choose another Speaker. There was another con- 
tested point: the Governor had exercised at pleasure the 
power of sending Writs of Election to some new towns not 
before represented, leaving others of equal or superior popu- 
lation, unrepresented. The House denied his authority to 
determine without their concurrence, what towns should en- 
joy the privilege of representation, and refused to admit the 
new. members to their seats. The exigencies of the late war 
had compelled Wentworth at the meeting of the preceding 
Assembly to yield the point for that time ; but now, supported 
by fresh instructions from the King, he was inflexible. The 
Assembly was equally indisposed to recede, and the conse- 
quence was, that although it was kept alive by adjournments 
and prorogations for the term of three years, no public busi- 
ness was transacted. The Treasurer's accounts remained 
unsettled, the soldiers who had served during the war were 
unpaid, and the Recorder's office was closed. His term was 
expired and a new choice could not be made till the Assem- 
bly wes duly organized. 

Great inconvenience and clamor were the inevitable results 
of this suspension of public business, and many were inclined 
to lay the blame on the head of the Governor. The confu- 
sion was occasioned in no small degree by the want of a 
definite, written Constitution The Governor's Com- 
mission from the King was almost the only substitute for 
such an instrument; and as neither, this nor the Triennial 
Act, determined on what principle Writs of Election should 
be sent to the new towns, the Governor issued them to such 
as he thought proper, and neglected others. The controversy 
was injurious to his popularity and led to the transmission of 
a complaint against him to England, to be laid before the 
King. His opponents wished to compass his removal from 
office, and to procure the appointment of Sir William Pep- 
perell to succeed him. The person to whose care the com- 



96 IIISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1752. 

plaint was entrusted, having ascertained that the English 
Ministry was disposed to sustain the Governor, and that a 
complaint to the King against one of his servants for follow- 
ing his instructions would be ill received, thought it not 
prudent to present it, and the affair was dropped. 

A new Assembly was convened in 1752. The evils of past 
altercations inclined them to caution and moderation ; the 
members returned from the new towns were admitted to seats 
without controversy ; and Meshech Weare of Hampton Falls, 
a man fast rising into distinction, whom it was foreseen the 
Governor would approve, was chosen speaker. The measures 
demanded by the public interest were adopted with tolerable 
harmony, and the Governor by a liberal distribution of civil 
and military Commissions, brought over some of his opponents, 
softened the resentment of others, and reinstated himself in 
some degree in his former good standing with the people. 

An occurrence which took place at this time alarmed the 
people of Hinsdale, and proved one of the mountains of New- 
Hampshire to be in an humble degree volcanic. It was a loud 
explosion like the report of a cannon attended with a column 
of smoke proceeding from the West River mountain, situated 
in Hinsdale and Chesterfield. A similar phenomenon alarmed 
the garrison of Fort Durnmer more than twenty years before, 
and again occurred near the commencement of the Revolu- 
tionary war. Dr. D wight, who visited the spot in 1798, found 
apertures which must have been formed by blasts of air from 
the bowels of the mountain, and a considerable quantity of 
calcined and vitrified matter, the product of subterranean 
fire. 

Vigorous efforts were made to extend the settlements in 
the western parts of the Province. Many of the former set- 
tlers whom the war had driven off, returned with accessions 
to their number, to their homes in this great wilderness, dotted 
with here and there a patch of cultivation. Grants of new 
townships were induced by various motives, such as the de- 
sire of attracting emigrants from other Provinces, and a 
regard on the part of the Governor, to the fees and emolu- 
ments accruing to himself, which were great. In each of 
the townships he reserved to himself a right of land, and 
others for the support of the Episcopal Church, to which he 
was warmly attached. It has been said that " during his ad- 
ministration there was a triple union of the State, the Church, 
and Himself, of which He however, was the most considera- 



1753.] feriod vi.— 1741— 1763. 97 

ble part." For the purpose of shutting out the French from 
the rich meadows of Coos, included in the present towns of 
Haverhill and Newbury, in which it was feared they might 
establish themselves, it was concluded to form a settlement 
there ; a party was accordingly sent up the river to lay out 
two townships, and make preparation for the reception of 
many families soon to follow them. This scheme awakened 
the jealousy of the St. Francis Indians, residing on the river 
of that name in Canada, to whom were united the remains of 
the tribes once planted in New-Hampshire and the western 
parts of Maine. Some of their warriors came to Capt. Stevens 
of Charlestown, with a message from the tribe, importing, that 
the English already owned more land than they could culti- 
vate, and threatening hostilities if they persisted in the design 
of occupying still more — a threat which disheartened the ad- 
venturers and led to an abandonment of the plan. These 
Indians made a further discovery of their ill temper, by sur- 
prising four men who were hunting in the wilderness near 
Baker's river, within the present limits of Rumney. Only 
one of the four escaped ; one was killed ; the other two were 
made prisoners and carried to Canada. 

Of these two, one was John Stark, afterwards the celebrated 
Gen. Stark. On their arrival at St. Francis, both ran the 
gauntlet, which consists in passing between two long files of 
Indians and receiving from each one a kick or a blow. — 
"Stark's companion suffered severely ; but he himself snatched 
a club from the nearest Indian, and laid about him to the right 
and left as he ran through the lines — greatly to the amusement 
of the fathers of the tribe." Their efforts to make him work 
were unavailing, as he cut up by the roots the corn he was 
ordered to hoe, declaring that such was the proper work of 
squaws, not of warriors. He was a favorite with them ; they 
adopted him as a son and gave him the title of the Young 
Chief. When, not long after, Capt. Stevens went to Canada 
to redeem English captives, the first one offered him was a 
robust young man, dressed in Indian style and decorated with 
wampum and silver. It was Stark. 

An event occurred in 1753 which sharpened the resentments 
of this hostile tribe. Two of their number, Sabbatis and 
Plausawa, came into Boscawen and lodged at the house of a 
man, who on the next day killed them in the woods, and with 
the aid of another concealed their bodies under abridge. The 
two men implicated in the affair were taken to Portsmouth and 
confined in irons in the prison ; but on the night preced- 
ing the day appointed for their trial, a body of armed men 
I 



<)8 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1754. 

forced the prison doors with crowbars and axes, and set them 
at liberty. They were never retaken, although the Governor 
offered a reward for their apprehension. It is but an act of 
justice to add that some accounts represent Bowen, the man 
who killed these Indians, as doing it in self defence, having 
first observed in them indications of hostile feelings, and 
actually seen one of them snap his gun at him with an evi- 
dent intent to shoot him. A present, with which at the time 
they appeared to be satisfied, was made to the tribe, as an 
atonement for the blood that had been shed. They however 
nourished secret purposes of revenge. A conference with 
several tribes being afterwards holden at Portland, the St. 
Francis tribe, though invited, did not attend ; but sent a 
message, purporting that " the blood was not wiped away." 

The apprehensions excited by the hostile temper of the 
Indians were increased by the unfriendly relations existing 
between England and France. Possessed of settlements both 
in Canada and Louisiana, the French aimed at connecting 
these distant regions by a chain of Forts from the St. Law- 
rence to the Mississippi, and thus monopolizing the fur trade 
of the Continent. The execution of this vast plan involved 
encroachments on lands claimed by the English Colonies, and 
engendered disputes between the two nations. Foreseeing 
that the controversy must be decided by the sword, the En- 
glish Ministry recommended to the Colonies an Union for 
mutual protection and defence. To effect this purpose, a 
Congress of Commissioners from the Colonies from New- 
Hampshire to Maryland, met at Albany in 1754, and agreed 
on a plan of union under a Governor General to be appointed 
by the King. The Commissioners from this Province were 
Theodore Atkinson, Richard Wibird, Henry Sherburne, and 
Meshech Weare. By a singular concurrence, the plan agreed 
on by the Congress was rejected in England as giving too 
much power to the Colonies, and in America as giving too 
much power to the King. 

After a short interval of peace the country was involved in 
the second French War. Instigated by French influence the 
Indians resumed the hatchet, and Salisbury first experienced 
the sufferings of invasion, having several of its inhabitants 
slain or carried into captivity. A party of the enemy surprised 
the family of James Johnson of Charlestown, and led off eight 
persons as prisoners. The very next day Mrs. Johnson was 
delivered of a daughter. The Indians had the humanity to 
make a halt on her account and construct a litter, on which 
they carried the mother and her daughter, appropriately 



1755.] period vi.— 1741— 1763. 99 

named Captive, through the vast wilderness surrounding the 
Green Mountains. Exposed to imminent danger of butchery 
or captivity, the inhabitants of Charlestown applied to the 
government of New-Hampshire for a guard of soldiers ; but 
being repulsed in this application they addressed their earnest 
supplications to Massachusetts, who granted the desired pro- 
tection. Having been carried to Canada, Mr. Johnson was 
permitted to return home on parole, and the government 
assisted him in procuring funds for the redemption of his 
family. 

Aided by England, the Colonists in 1755 set on foot several 
expeditions against the French. Those against Fort du 
Quesne on the Ohio and Fort Niagara, miscarried. A third, 
directed against Nova Scotia, was successful ; our troops 
took Fort Cumberland, disarmed the hostile inhabitants of 
the adjacent region, and transported almost two thousand 
French people, out of the country. A fourth expedition, led 
by Generals Johnson and Lyman, was destined to attack 
Crown Point. To this body was attached a New-Hampshire 
Regiment, under Col. Joseph Blanchard of Dunstable, who 
marched through the wilderness by way of Salisbury on the 
Merrimac, and Charlestown on the Connecticut, and were 
posted at Fort Edward ; while the main body advanced to 
Fort George, at the south end of the lake of that name. A 
formidable French force under the Baron Dieskau soon after 
arrived at the south end of Lake Champlain, and marched to 
attack our troops. Johnson sent out a body of Americans 
and Mohawks, commanded by Col. Williams and the cele- 
brated Indian Chief Hendricks, to check their advance. — 
Unhappily this detachment fell into an ambuscade, and some 
hundreds of the men, together with Williams and Hendricks, 
were slaughtered. A pond lying on the line of their retreat 
into Johnson's camp, into which the bodies of the slain were 
cast, has ever since been called " Bloody Pond." Flushed 
with this success, Dieskau pressed forward and attacked the 
English camp, but was repulsed with great slaughter, and 
himself mortally wounded. A part of his forces on their 
retreat fell in with a detachment of New-Hampshire and 
New- York troops coming up from Fort Edward, the former 
commanded by Capt. Folsom of Exeter, and after the ex- 
change of several sharp fires, were again put to flight, leaving 
in the power of the victors, the baggage of the French. — 
After these affairs the army was reinforced by a second reg- 
iment from this Province, under the command of Col, Peter 
Gilman. 



100 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1755. 

During the summer small parties of Indians repeated their 
unwelcome visits to Hopkinton, Keene and Charlestown. — 
At Walpole, a considerable body of them killed two men, and 
got possession of Col. Bellows' fortified house in his absence. 
Returning with twenty men, he gallantly fought his way 
through fifty savages and recovered the house. The Indians 
having been largely reinforced, attacked the garrison of John 
Kilburn in the same town. With the aid of three men and 
two women, Kilburn made good the defence, keeping the 
women employed in running bullets and loading muskets, 
while the men discharged them at the enemy. This little 
band sustained the assault of two hundred savages, for some 
hours, killed several of the number, and compelled them at 
the approach of evening to retire. Never was a more gal- 
lant defence made. The enemy however, continued their 
efforts at other points, and found an opportunity to strike an- 
other blow on the unfortunate town of Hinsdale. Three men, 
returning at evening from their labor to their families a' 
Bridgman's Fort, fell into an ambushment ; one only escaped, 
while another was killed, and a third drowned in attempting 
to cross the river. The Indians then hastened to the fort ; 
the unsuspecting inmates, hearing the sound of their foot- 
steps, and thinking their friends had arrived, gladly unbarred 
the gate to receive them. In rushed the savages, and seized 
the unfortunate women and children to the number of four- 
teen. 

One of these unhappy females was Mrs. How, of whom 
under the appellation of The Fair Captive, Gen. Humphreys 
has given so glowing a description in his Life of Putnam. — 
Her adventures were indeed romantic. On her march over 
the Green Mountains towards Canada, one of her little sons 
four years old, would occasionally sit down at a halting place 
on his master's pack, when the inhuman monster "would 
knock him off with the handle of his hatchet, inflicting 
wounds on his head, the scars of which long remained. As 
they passed down Lake Champlain in canoes, a tremendous 
nocturnal thunder storm lashed the waves into fury and 
threatened them with instant destruction. Dreadful was the 
rolling of the thunder on the watery expanse. After their 
arrival at the head quarters of the tribe, Mrs. How experien- 
ced the sufferings of extreme hunger, and saw the time when 
she gladly skimmed off and swallowed the fragments float- 
ing in a pail destined to feed swine. Her babe was taken 
from her by violence and carried to a distant place. Roving 
with her captors from place to place, she spent a dreary win- 



1756.] period vi.— 1741— 17G3. 101 

ter among the Islands in the northern part of the lake. Once 
they gave her the false intelligence, merely to afflict her, that 
one of her children had died a natural death, and another 
had been killed by a blow of a hatchet ; nor was it till some- 
time afterwards, that her anguish was removed by the discov- 
ery that they were both alive. She was at length sold to a 
Frenchman, and was finally redeemed from a long captivity 
by the generous interposition of Col. Schuyler of New-York. 
One of her daughters was carried by the French Governor 
to France, where she was married, and never revisited her 
native land. 

The first Baptist Church in the Province was gathered this 
year at Newtown, under the ministry of the Rev. Walter 
Powers. This denomination of Christians has since become 
numerous, including at the present day, ninety-one Churches, 
and five thousand seven hundred and forty-seven communi- 
cants within the limits of New-Hampshire. 

The third great earthquake known in New-England, oc- 
curred in November, a little before day-break, after a clear 
and serene night. The shock was heavy, and of considerable 
duration. Suddenly arousing the people from the peaceful 
slumbers of the night, it excited great alarm. It threw down 
the tops of 100 chimneys in Boston, and shook the country 
from Virginia to Nova Scotia, an extent of a thousand miles. 

In 1756, the operations of war languished. A considera- 
ble body of Colonial troops, among whom was a New-Hamp- 
shire regiment under Col. Messerve, was collected for anoth- 
er attempt ou Crown Point ; but the Earl of Loudon, than 
whom a more inefficient man was ne^ er at the head of an 
army, having the chief command, nothing effectual was done. 
The regiment from this Province being distinguished for 
hardihood and agility in traversing the woods, a select num- 
ber of its men were formed into three companies of Rang- 
ers, commanded by Robert Rogers, John Stark, and William 
Stark, and kept in pay of the king during the war. The 
Rangers served as guides and couriers, kept the enemy in 
alarm by false attacks, and reconnoitered hostile posts. Many 
of them were from Londonderry and the immediate vicinity ; 
not Irish) as has been incorrectly stated, but of Scottish de- 
scent. They distinguished themselves in numerous bloody 
skirmishes with parties of French and Indians, and exhibited 
much tact in scouring the woods, and procuring intelligence 
of hostile movements. On the waters and among the islands 
and mountains of Lake George, they were incessantly in 
motion. Major Rogers of Londonderry, than whom few 
I* 



102 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1757. 

partizan warriors have been more celebrated, commanded 
the whole body. He afterwards published at London an in- 
teresting Journal of their Military services. 

The Indians acted during the season with less than their 
usual vigor, and with the exception of killing Lieut. Willard 
at Charlestown, and the capture of a few persons at Winches- 
ter, did little serious mischief. Of the stratagems of 
savage warfare and the hair-breadth escapes of the scattered 
inhabitants of the remoter towns, we have a specimen in an 
occurrence which took place at Westmoreland, near this 
time, though the precise date is unknown. A party of men 
went up the river to hoe corn on an island, some miles above 
their habitations ; and having finished their work, passed over 
to the west bank, on their way homeward. A large dog be- 
longing to one of the company ran up the steep bank before 
them, when his angry growls led them to suspect the pres- 
ence of an enemy lurking in ambush. Immediately they 
recrossed the river, and by a route on the east side reached 
home in safety. The dog was the instrument of their pres- 
ervation. They afterwards learned the fact, that thirty In- 
dians lay in concealment, ready to fire upon them the moment 
they should ascend the bank, and come fairly within their 
reach. 

This year is the era of the introduction of printing into the 
State. Dairiel Fowle from Boston, established a press at 
Portsmouth, and soon issued the first number of the New- 
Hampshire Gazette, a newspaper which still exists. The 
first newspaper in Boston began its course more than half a 
century before. Both Newspaper and Book printing are 
now executed in the State, especially at Concord, to a large 
extent. 

The hostilities of the two preceding years had been car- 
ried on without a formal declaration of war against France. 
Such a declaration was issued in 1757. New-Hampshire 
raised a regiment for the service of the year, of which a part 
under Lieut. Col. Gone of Bedford, marched by way of 
Charlestown, which had been recently distressed by another 
Indian incursion, to Fort William Henry, on the shore of 
Lake George ; and were there united with other troops, to 
the number of two thousand. Little did they anticipate the 
fatal disaster which awaited them soon after their arrival. — 
The Marquis de Montcalm who had succeeded to the com- 
mand of the French army, invested the Fort with a power- 
ful force, and in six days compelled it to surrender, on con- 
dition that the garrison should be protected and conducted in 



1758.] period vi.— 1741— 1763. 103 

safety to Fort Edward. At the head of a force sufficient to 
have relieved Fort William Henry, Gen. Webb lay in the 
mean time at Fort Edward in stupid inactivity. His troops 
were eager to go to the rescue of their brethren, and solicited 
the permission of their commander ; but Gen. Johnson, tho 
second in command, told them with tears in his eyes, that 
Webb forbade their march. As the garrison after the surren- 
der marched out unarmed, the savages in Montcalm's army, 
enraged at the disappointment of their expectations of plun- 
der, fell on them with a fury next to infernal. The New- 
Hampshire troops being in the rear, suffered most, having 
eighty out of two hundred butchered on the spot — a massa- 
cre that filled the Province with mourning. Unquestionably 
Montcalm might have prevented this outrage, the permission 
of which was on his part a wanton and inhuman violation of 
a sacred engagement. Hundreds besides those belonging to 
this Province, were sacrificed on this bloody arena. Urgent 
demands being sent on for reinforcements, an additional force 
of 250 men was raised here and placed under the command 
of Maj. Tash of Durham, who was stationed at Charlestown, 
by order of Webb, for the protection of the settlements on 
Connecticut river. 

Chagrined at the ill success of the wai, the English nation 
demanded a change of Ministers at home and of Military 
commanders abroad. William Pitt being placed at the head 
of the administration in 1758, soon infused into the English 
fleets and armies, a new spirit. A powerful expedition from 
Halifax took Louisburgh from the French, with its garrison 
of 5000 men and 120 pieces of cannon. At this place Col. 
Messerve of Portsmouth, an officer of distinguished merit, 
to whom Lord Loudon had presented an elegant piece of 
plate as a testimonial of his good services, closed his life. A 
force under Gen. Forbes succeeded in gaining possession of 
Fort du Quesne, now Pittsburg. Gen. Abercrombie, who had 
superseded Loudon in the chief command, advanced at the 
head of a third army, to which was attached a regiment of 
800 men from this Province, to attack the strong fortress 
of Ticonderoga. He transported his men down Lake 
George on a bright and beautiful day, in more than a 
thousand boats, gliding in perfect order to the sound of fine 
martial music, Lord Howe in a large boat leading the van. — 
After landing, some of the troops were engaged in a skirmish 
with the enemy, in which Rogers' rangers bore a distinguished 
part. On the next day the whole army moved to attack the 
French lines ; but they were received with a murderous fir* 



101 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1759. 

of artillery and small arms, which they endured four hours, 
when they were compelled to retreat with the loss of 2000 
men killed and wounded. Among the slain was Lord Howe, 
a young British nobleman of great merit, to whom the Amer- 
cans were warmly attached. So bloody and disastrous a result 
filled the whole country with grief and consternation. The 
capture however of Fort Frontenac by Col. Bradstreet, whom 
Abercrombie after his return to Fort George had detached on 
this service, was some reparation of this dreadful loss. 

The splendor of military transactions is but a thin veil 
drawn over the real miseries of war. Of the thousands of 
Ambercrombie's men who shared the pleasure of the brilliant 
passage down Lake George, with the anticipation of triumph 
shining in every eye, some hundreds on the very next day 
left the scenes of earth, suddenly and forever ! The miseries 
inflicted by one great battle on the wounded, on widows and 
orphans, and on aged parents bereft of the props of their 
declining years, transcend the power of the human mind to 
estimate. To this we are to add the reflection of a multitude 
of souls appearing before the Judge of all the earth, probably 
many of them without preparation! Connected as it too 
often is, with moral turpitude, military glory is but a splendid 
bubble. To reconcile war, except when strictly defensive, 
with the precepts of the gospel, is altogether impossible. — 
The future and universal prevalence of Christian principles, 
we are permitted to hope, will banish from the earth this 
scourge of man. 

Notwithstanding the disaster at Ticonderoga, the results of 
the last campaign were on the whole auspicious, and stimula- 
ted the English Ministry and the Colonists to make exertions 
the next year, which crushed the French power in America. 
A regiment of a thousand men from this Province under 
Col. Lovewell, brother of the Lovewell so celebrated in a 
former war, joined the army ou the Hudson and took part 
in the reduction of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, the gar- 
risons retiring on the approach of a superior force. Another 
British army, led by Gen. Wolfe, took, after the decisive and 
well known battle on the plains of Abraham, the city of 
Quebec, the strong capital of Canada. The reduction of this 
almost impregnable fortress filled the colonies with joy, and 
was celebrated in all the large towns with bells, processions, 
fireworks, illuminations, and other tokens of triumph. On 
the eighteenth of October, public thanks were given to Al- 
mighty God in the Churches for the interposition of his Prov- 
idence in these great events. 



1759.] period vi.— 1.741— 1763. 105 

The troops were now at leisure to inflict chastisement on 
the St. Francis Indians, the authors of the devastations com- 
mitted on the frontiers of New-Hampshire in this and the 
preceding war. Major Rogers and his Rangers were de- 
tached on this service from Crown Point ; and after a pas- 
sage down Lake Champlain and a march of twenty-one days 
through Canadian forests, he descried from the top of a tree 
the principal village of the tribe. Unsuspicious of the im- 
pending danger, the Indians spent most of the next night in 
dancing, and retired to their cabins for rest a little before 
break of day. No sooner were they buried in sleep than the 
assault was made, and quickly were their cabins and fields 
flowing with blood. Out of three hundred inhabitants, two 
hundred were slain, and the conflagration of their village 
closed the scene. It was found filled with English plunder 
and English scalps to the number of six hundred — a sight 
which ga?<6 edge tO the resentments or" 1I10 assailants. Tho 
retreat of the Rangers, which was made by way of Mem- 
phremagog Lake, towards the mouth of Ammonoosuc river, 
was attended with distressing reverses. Rogers kept his men 
in a body till their provisions failed, when he distributed 
them into small parties, that they might the better procure 
subsistence on the way by hunting. Two of these parties 
were overtaken by pursuing bodies of the enemy, and most 
of the men killed or made prisoners. The commander with 
the main body, arrived in a starving condition at the Ammo* 
noosuc in Bath, where, in accordance with a plan previously 
concerted, he expected to find a supply of provisions. Cruel 
disappointment awaited him : the party entrusted with the 
provisions had indeed been at the place, but after waiting 
some days without seeing or hearing ought of Rogers, had 
departed only a few hours before his arrival, leaving their 
fires still burning. Guns, which they distinctly heard, were 
fired to recal them ; but imagining they might have been fired 
by an enemy, they held on their course down the river. For 
this needless precipitation, subjecting as it did the famished 
Rangers to the bitterest suffering, the commanding officer of 
the returning party was deservedly cashiered. The nearest 
place of relief was Charlestown — at the distance of seventy 
miles — there being no settlement on the river above that 
town. Ground nuts and beach nuts were the only sustenance 
to be procured in the dreary forests ; and to such extremities 
were they reduced, that for the sake of drinking a little broth 
even slightly tinctured with animal matter, they boiled their 
powder horns, ball pouches, and other leathern accouUe- 



106 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1760. 

ments. A raft was constructed on which Rogers with two 
or three others, floated down Connecticut river to White river 
falls, where the raft was unfortunately lost. With extreme 
difficulty another was constructed by the slow process of 
burning down trees, on which he passed over other rapids 
to Charlestown, and despatched up the river canoes laden 
with provisions, to meet the starving survivors. Several had 
perished in the woods of despair, hunger and exhaustion, 
and the total loss in the retreat amounted to fifty men. 

Of the sufferings endured by the unfortunate Rangers in 
this retreat, the case of Benjamin Bradley of Concord fur- 
nishes an affecting specimen. In company with two others, 
he left the main body on the upper part of the Connecticut 
river, taking a course which he supposed would lead him to 
his father's house on the Merrimac. He never arrived. Some 
hunters afterwards found in the wilderness of the White 
Mountains, a quantity of silver broaches and wampum scat- 
tered around the skeleton of a man, which from some proba- 
ble indications was conjectured to be that of Bradley. 

The next year, 1760, witnessed the completion of the 
conquest of Canada, by the surrender of Montreal to three 
British armies, which penetrated to that city by different 
routes and arrived almost simultaneously. A New-Hampshire 
regiment under Col. Goffe, which after cutting a new road 
from Charlestown through Vermont to Crown Point, was 
united to a force commanded by Col. Haviland, formed a 
part of the great assemblage of troops concentrated around 
Montreal. The reduction of Canada put an end to the tragic 
scenes of Indian warfare on the borders of this State. So 
effectually had the splendid achievements of the English and 
Colonial troops overawed the savages, that for the three last 
years, they had been restrained from other mischiefs than the 
capture or slaughter of a few persons at Charlestown and 
Hinsdale. They now passed under the dominion of England, 
and their terrific war whoops were no longer to resound 
through the forests of New-Hampshire. The baleful in- 
fluence so long exercised over them by a foreign, hostile 
nation, was now to cease forever. 

That the French had shamefully and wickedly abused this 
influence, is notorious. By bidding a price for every English 
scalp, they continually excited the savage to the work of 
blood and ruin. They taught him to regard them as the only 
genuine friends of Christianity ; the English, as heretics, 
whom to kill was not only lawful, but meritorious. Some 
religious forms and ceremonies they indeed communicated to 



17(53.] period vi.— 1713— 1741. 107 

the Indians,but left them profoundly ignorant of the nature and 
excellent principles of real Christianity. A curious specimen 
of the kind of religion they imparted to them is found in the 
following incident : "The noted Therouet, an Indian Sachem, 
died at Montreal. The French gave him burial in a 
pompous manner, the Catholic priest that attended him at his 
death having declared that he died a true christian : For, 
said he, while I explained to him the passion of our Saviour 
whom the Jews crucified, he cried out, 'Oh, had I been 
there I would have revenged his death and brought away 
their scalps.' " Had he possessed a particle of christian feeling, 
how different at this solemn moment had been his language. 

War between France and England still continued, but the 
theatre of its subsequent operations being far distant, they 
come not within our plan. New-England, which had freely 
bled in six Indian wars, was destined to exhibit for a time 
more peaceful scenes. 

On the night of the 12th of April, 1761, the country was 
shaken by an earthquake, which was succeeded by another in 
Autumn. The summer of this, and that of the following year, 
were each of them remarkable for a great and distressing 
drought, which rendered necessary the importation of large 
quantities of bread-stuffs from abroad. A considerable emi- 
gration from various parts of New-England to Nova Scotia 
took place at this period. The expulsion of some hundreds 
of French families from the latter Province, after its con- 
quest by the English a few years before, had left, unoccupied, 
large tracts of cultivated land ; as the government offered 
them to their own subjects on easy terms, many New-Eng- 
landers were induced to emigrate. Attracted by the prospect 
of fine farms, a considerable number of the enterprising in- 
habitants of Londonderry removed to that bleak re- 
gion, and settled in the towns of Truro and Londonderry. 

A definitive treaty of peace between England and France 
was concluded in 1763, after a long and tremendous struggle, 
in which France lost all her North American Colonies, and 
England gained an immense addition of territory, but at a 
vast expense of blood and treasure. Toward her splendid 
successes, her American Colonies powerfully contributed ; 
and in proportion to her wealth and extent, none more than 
New-Hampshire. 

The number of eminent men who left the stage in the 
course of the period now brought to a close, is not great. — 
The Rev. Jabez Fitch of Portsmouth, who deceased in 1746, 
was a collector of historical facts, and left behind him some 



108 KI5TOHY OF >£W-HAMrGHIRE. [1763. 

valuable manuscripts, from which Dr. Belknap derived a por- 
tion of the materials for his history. The Hon. George Jaf- 
frey, Chief Justice of the Superior Court, and a Counsellor 
of the Province, died in 1749. Not long after died the for- 
mer Secretary of the Province, Richard Waldron, who like 
most of the other public men of that day, was a professor of 
religion, and warmly interested in the welfare of the Church, 
of which he was a member. Daniel Tread well, a native of 
Portsmouth, was one of the pupils of Major Hale, long cele- 
brated as the Instructor of the Grammar School in that town, 
who taught some thousands of youth, and " whose fame in 
the region of the Pascataqua was equal to that of his cotem- 
porary Lovel in Boston." Soon after his graduation at Har- 
vard, Treadwell was elected Professor of Mathematics in 
King's College in the city of New-York, and promised to 
attain to distinguished eminence in that department of sci- 
ence, when his early death disappointed the high-raised hopes 
of his friends. 



PERIOD VII. 



FROM THE PEACE OF 1763 TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE 
REVOLUTIONARY CONTEST IN 1775. 

The passage of numerous bodies of troops during the last 
war through the territory now called Vermont, made the fer- 
tility of the lands well known ; and no sooner was the danger 
of Indian invasion past, than they were eagerly sought for the 
purposes of settlement and speculation. Gov. Wentworth and 
his Council, almost immediately after the reduction of Canada, 
caused a survey to be made of the country on the Connecticut 
river, and six ranges of townships to be laid out, three on each 
side. Applicants in rapid succession were gratified with grants, 
and the Governor was gratified with the fees, which amounted 
to a sum sufficient to enrich him. A stream of immigrants 
poured into this region, and the settlements were soon extended 
up the river from Charlestown to Lancaster and Northumber- 
land. Many of these immigrants came from Connecticut, and 
planted themselves in Claremont, Plainfield, Lebanon,Hanover, 
Lyme, Orford, Newport, Lempster, Alstead, Marlow, and some 
other towns. They were a respectable class of people, ex- 
hibiting in point of manners, customs and modes of thinking, 
the distinctive peculiarities of their native State. At the same 
time, new settlements spread along the Merrimac from Salis- 
bury to Plymouth and Campton ; over the western parts of 
Hillsborough and Merrimac Counties, the eastern sections of 
Cheshire and Sullivan, and the northern part of Strafford. A 
portion of these immigrants, and that not a small one, pos- 
sessed little besides the axe on their shoulders and a flock of 
needy children in their arms. The forests resounded with the 
woodman's strokes; the hand of industry rapidly, and as if 
by enchantment, laid open new fields and erected commodious 
dwellings ; commerce was extended ; the fisheries prosecuted 
with succcess; and the means of literary and religious im- 
provement, multiplied. The hardy and intrepid generation, 
K 



110 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1763- 

now gone, which accomplished this vast extension of cultiva- 
tion and civilization, richly merits the grateful remembrance of 
their posterity. "Almost all the roads in which they travelled, 
passed through deep forests and over rough hills and moun- 
tains, often over troublesome and dangerous streams and not 
•infrequently through swamps miry and hazardous ; where 
wolves, bears, and catamounts obstructed and alarmed their 
passage. The forests they could not cut down ; the rocks 
they could not remove ; the swamps they could not causey ; 
over the streams they could not erect bridges. Yet men, 
women, and children ventured daily through this combination 
of evils, penetrated the recesses of the wilderness, climbed the 
hills, wound their way among the rocks, struggled through 
the mire, and swam on horseback through deep and rapid 
rivers." 

Over the forests of New-Hampshire the Moose then roamed, 
and often furnished to the settlers in the wilderness welcome 
supplies of flesh, when none was to be derived from other 
sources. Col. Webster, who established himself at Plymouth 
when almost all the region north of Boscawen was a dark 
forest, had at one time in his house fifteen barrels of moose- 
meat. The Merrimac and Connecticut, with their numerous 
branches, then furnished at the proper season an abundant 
supply of salmon. Often were the tables, spread hi the rude 
log cabins of that day, graced with this delicious fish, which 
a combination of causes has since driven almost entirely from 
our waters. 

The conquest of Canada had not only removed the chief 
obstacles to the rapid extension of new settlements, but it had 
also given the Colonies a new idea of their own power and 
political importance. They began to foresee that a great and 
independent empire was destined to rise into existence in 
America. They had no expectation of a speedy separation 
from Great Britain, nor did they at that time desire it. But it 
was often said that in future ages, this country would form a 
powerful and independent nation ; though none then living, 
would see the event : this was the current language of the 
day. That the prediction would be so soon accomplished, they 
did not even dream ; and in relation to the rapid advances of 
the country in wealth, population and political importance, 
their most adventurous imaginations lagged far behind the 
scenes which time has since unfolded as realities. 

Though the four great divisions of our population, the 
Pascataqua, Londonderry ,Merrimack and Connecticut portions, 
retain to this day some vestiges of their original peculiarities : 



1764.] period vii.— 1703— 1775. Ill 

yet these different classes, connected by bonds political, social, 
and religious, have become so blended and assimilated as to 
dwell together in great harmony, and to exhibit in an uncom- 
mon degree that uniformity of character, so promotive of the 
the interests of a Commonwealth. 

The numerous grants on the part of New-Hampshire of the 
lands west of the Connecticut, gave great uneasiness to the 
Government of New- York, which claimed all the territory 
north of Massachusetts, as far east as to that river. In conse- 
quence of a representation by the Governor of New York to 
the King, a royal Order was issued in 1764, making the west- 
ern bank of the river the boundary between the two contending 
Provinces, thus annexing the New-Hampshire Grants, as 
Vermont was then called, to New-York. After this decision, 
the latter Province claimed the right of soil as well as of ju- 
risdiction, and assumed the ground that all former grants under 
the authority of New-Hampshire were null and void. The 
settlers and claimants, a numerous and powerful body, were 
deeply interested in resisting this assumption and supporting 
the validity of their titles. These conflicting claims led, as 
might have been expected, to long and embittered disputes 
between them and the authorities of New- York : disputes so 
vehement as often to threaten bloodshed. They would readi- 
ly have submitted to the jurisdiction of that Province, had 
they been permitted quietly to hold their lands : but when 
.suits of ejectment were brought and decided against them in 
the New- York Courts, the officers who attempted to dispossess 
them met with such menaces and perils as compelled them to 
retire. On the part of the people of the Grants, the irritation 
at length became so great, as to lead them to the fixed deter- 
mination not to come under the jurisdiction of New-York, but 
to assume and exercise a distinct jurisdiction. The Green 
Mountain Boys had no idea of surrendering lands for which 
they had given a valuable consideration, and had brought 
under cultivation by severe personal labor ; and New- York, 
by grasping at too much, eventually lost the whole. 

The Rev. Robert Sandeman of Scotland, the founder of 
the religious denomination of the Sandemanians, came into 
America at this time, and fixed himself at Danbury, Connecti- 
cut. He formed several societies of his principles ; among 
others, one at Portsmouth, which still exists. 

We have now come to the momentous period of the rise of 
that long controversy with Great Britain, which resulted in 
the separation of the American Colonies from the parent State. 
A desigu of taxing them, first suggested, as has been said, to 



112 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1765. 

the British Government by a native of New-Hampshire, had 
been conceived before the last French War, but kept a pro- 
found secret. During that war, their good will was too 
important to England to be forfeited, and therefore no attempt 
to execute the design was then made. After the war, the 
British Treasury was burdened with the interest of the im- 
mense expenditures incurred in its support, and it was felt that 
a revenue derived from America would afford a seasonable 
relief. The British Government accordingly determined to 
commence a system of Colonial taxation, and passed, 1765, 
the notorious Stamp Act, imposing a Stamp duty on the 
Colonies, and requiring all the legal written Instruments in 
use among a commercial people, and even licenses for mar- 
riage, to be executed on stamped paper charged with a duty. 

This Act was viewed as an attack on American liberty, and 
spread alarm through the country. The people on deliberate 
consideration determined not to submit to its requisitions ; — 
they contended that the Legislature of a country three thous- 
and miles distant, in which they were not represented, had 
no right to tax them ; and they foresaw that this measure, if 
unresisted, would be but the entering wedge for others yet 
more oppressive. The anticipation of such an Act had led 
numbers, the year before, to form an agreement not to import 
British manufactures, and particularly to disuse mourning ap- 
parel, as an article both unnecessary, and tending to increase 
their dependence on the fabrics of the mother country. With 
the view of increasing the growth and manufacture of wool, 
and thus rendering themselves independent of foreign supplies, 
the people of Boston now came into an agreement not to eat 
lamb during that season. Such was the excitement in most 
of the Provinces, that the Distributors of Stamps were driven 
by considerations of personal danger to resign their office. — 
George Meserve, son of the distinguished Col. Meserve who 
died in the expedition to Louisburg, having been appointed 
Distributor in New-Hampshire, was compelled on his arrival 
from England to resign his office before he set foot on the 
shore ; and after landing, to ratify his resignation before he 
went to his own house. The Assembly at their next sesssion 
sent a petition to England for a repeal of the obnoxious Act. 
On the day preceding that in which it was to go into opera- 
tion, the New-Hampshire Gazette appeared with a mourning 
border ; on the next day the bells were tolled, and other indi- 
cations of strong popular excitement appeared. Suspicions hav- 
ing arisen that Meserve still intended to distribute the stamps, 
the sons of liberty were called together by beat of drum, when 



1766.] period vii.— 1763— 1775. 113 

they compelled him to give up his Commission and take an 
Oath, administered by Wyseman Claggett, not to attempt to 
execute his office. 

While the repeal of the Stamp Act hung in suspense, and it 
was doubtful whether the proceedings of the Courts would be 
deemed valid without the use of stamped papers, some licen- 
tious persons began to imagine that debts could not be recov- 
ered, and that they might set their Creditors at defiance. This 
bad spirit was soon put down by an Association of the more 
virtuous part of the community for the support of the laws, 
and of the Magistracy in executing them. But the opposi- 
tion to the Stamp Act was so violent throughout the country, 
that, to the joy of the Americans, the British Parliament was 
induced the next year to repeal it. 

The Commission and Instructions of the Stamp Distributor, 
which he had been compelled to surrender to the people, 
were by them sent back to England in a packet, to the care 
of the Agents of the Province, to be returned, if thought 
proper, to the Stamp Office in London. This was a bold 
step, and it amounted almost to an open defiance of the Brit- 
ish government. On the arrival of the packet, the Stamp 
Act was about to be repealed : and the Agents, apprehensive 
that the proceedings in New-Hampshire, if publicly known, 
might produce an irritation unfavorable to so desirable an 
issue, suppressed the intelligence till after the repeal was ef- 
fected. 

Gov. Benning Wentworth resigned the Chair in 1766, hav- 
ing occupied it twenty-five years. Some traits of his character 
merit commendation. He was an obliging, generous friend ; 
and in the two French and Indian wars which occurred during 
his administration, he was assidious in his attention to the 
protection of the frontiers, and the promotion of the common 
cause. But his manners were some what, haughty and his 
resentments warm. Having, like other officers under the royal 
government, derived his appointment from a foreign source, 
he was of course more solicitous to please his superiors 
abroad, than to consult the feelings of the people at home. 
His numerous grants of land to the people of Massachu- 
setts and Connecticut, for the sake of the fees and emolu- 
ments accruing, exposed him to the severe censures of the 
inhabitants of the Eastern part of New-Hampshire ; who 
saw, not without strong resentments, the people of other 
Provinces engrossing valuable lands to which they thought 
they had a superior claim. The Governor sustained himself 
by the plea, that they had been remiss in forwarding the set- 

K* 



114 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1767. 

tlement of some townships which had been granted them, 
and that the grantees in Massachusetts were superior cultiva- 
tors, and would introduce a body of immigrants who would 
add materially to the wealth of the Province. Being an ar- 
dent Episcopalian, he took care in his grants to reserve lands 
for the benefit of his own denomination. In his appointments 
to civil offices, he unduly regarded the interests of his own 
family. George JafTrey was President of the Council, Chief 
Justice, and Treasurer ; Theodore Atkinson, Secretary, and 
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas; Jotham Odiorne, Judge 
of the Superior Court; Thomas Packer, Sheriff; Henry 
Sherburne, Richard Wibird, Ellis Huske,and Samuel Solley, 
Counsellors ; — all either relatives or family connexions of the 
Governor. Some complaints against him having found their 
way to England, the Ministry meditated his removal. In the 
agitations excited by the Stamp Act, he was silent. Advan- 
ced in years, expecting soon to be superseded, and having a 
large estate in this country, it was important to him to retire 
from office without incurring popular odium. His nephew, 
John Wentworth, being in England, and having gained the 
acquaintance and patronage of some of the nobility, it was 
decided to appoint him to succeed to the Chair of this Prov- 
ince ; and for the sake of the nephew's feelings, an opportu- 
nity was allowed to the aged Governor to resign, with an 
appearance of resigning in favor of a kinsman. He continued 
to reside at Portsmouth till his death, four years after his re- 
signation. 

Gov. John Wentworth, with Commissions constituting him 
Governor of New-Hampshire, and Surveyor of the King's 
Woods in America, arrived at Portsmouth from England in 
June, 1767, and was received with distinguished respect. — 
Several Counsellors and a Committee of the Assembly, es- 
corted by a troop of horse, met him at the Province line, and 
on their return towards Portsmouth were joined by many of 
the inhabitants, forming in the whole a grand cavalcade. — 
The Wentworth family had long been the most brilliant in 
the Province. Courteous in manners, and disposed to culti- 
vate the friendship of the people, the new Governor was 
extremely popular, and the Assembly voted him a liberal sala- 
ry. He was a man of taste, delighted in agricultural improve- 
ments, and brought under cultivation a large farm in Wolfe- 
borough, on which he erected an elegant mansion. The 
grand and romantic scenery around Winnepiseogee Lake, a 
splendid, though irregular sheet of water, embosomed by 
surrounding mountains, attracted him to this spot. Dwight 



1769.] period vii.— 17G3— 1775. 115 

proposed to call the lake. Went worth, in honor of this dis- 
tinguished cultivator of its shores ; but the proposal has not 
received the sanction of general adoption. 

Though the Stamp Act was repealed, the design of raising 
a revenue from America was not abandoned. A bill passed 
the British Parliament imposing a duty in the Colonies upon 
the articles of glass, paper, paints, and tea ; and establishing 
a Custom House and Board of Commissioners to superintend 
the Collection. These duties, though small, were viewed as 
introductory to other and heavier ones, and as establishing a 
precedent tending to subject all American property to British 
taxation. A spirit of opposition burst forth from Maine to 
Georgia, and an agreement was formed, to a great extent, not 
to import British Manufactures, till the obnoxious duties 
should be repealed. This was done with the hope, that the 
embarrassments resulting to British Merchants and Manufac- 
turers from the non-importation plan, would arouse them to 
exert their influence in favor of the Colonies. In this Prov- 
ince the influence of Gov. Went worth, aided by that of his 
numerous and wealthy connexions, and of the crown officers, 
prevented for some time the adoption of the agreement : but 
the people in general were inflexibly opposed to the views 
of Britain. The Bostonians became so exasperated as to 
attack the houses of the Commissioners of the revenue, and 
force them to take refuge in the Castle. It being now appar- 
ent that the revenue laws could never be executed without 
an armed force, two regiments of troops and several armed 
vessels were sent to Boston in 1768. This step, far from 
overawing the Americans, served only to render them the 
more determined in their opposition. 

The New-Hampshire Assembly consisted at this time of 
thirty-one members, representing about thirty towns. Many 
of the new towns were unrepresented. The Province con- 
tained about sixty settled Ministers, Congregational and 
Presbyterian ; eight Attorneys at Law ; eighty Justices of 
the Peace ; and ten Regiments of Militia. 

Amid the controversies of the times, the interests of Edu- 
cation were not forgotten. A College, the fourth in New- 
England, was founded at Hanover, N. H. The Institution 
was originally designed chiefly for the education of Indians 
and Missionaries to the Indians ; and the plan of it had been 
conceived, many years before, by Mr. John Sergeant, Mis- 
sionary to the Stockbridge Indians. This excellent man pro- 
cured some benefactions towards the execution of his design ; 
but death interrupted his labors before any thing was brought 



116 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1769 

to maturity. After his death the plan was revived by the 
Rev. and pious Eleazer Wheelock, Minister of Lebanon, 
Con., who established at that place a school for the education 
of Indians and Missionaries to the Indian tribes. One of his 
pupils was Sampson Occum, a Mohegan Indian, who exhib- 
ited talents and conduct so respectable, that he was licensed 
to preach the gospel, and sent to England to solicit benefac- 
tions towards the establishment of a College. His appearance 
there as a preacher, and the creditable manner in which he 
acquitted himself, excited the attention of pious and benevo- 
Jent persons, aud procured considerable sums of money, 
which were placed in the hands of a Board of Trustees, of 
which the Earl of Dartmouth was at the head. 

Dr. Wheelock was now invited to several of the Colonies, 
with offers of aid. By the advice of the benefactors in 
England, he decided to accept the invitation of Gov. Went- 
worth and other gentlemen in New-Hampshire, to establish 
his intended Institution in this Province, and the town of 
Hanover was selected as the most favorable situation. The 
Governor gave it a Charter of incorporation in 1769, and it 
took its distinctive name from the Earl of Dartmouth, a prin- 
cipal benefactor. The whole region around was just begin- 
ning to emerge from a wilderness state ; the first College Edi- 
fice was constructed of logs ; but the founder looked forward 
to a rapid increase of population, and his views were not 
disappointed. In a short time the College rose into respec- 
tability, and was endowed at different periods with considera- 
ble tracts of land both in this Province and Vermont. The 
first President Wheelock, having amply merited an enrol- 
ment among the benefactors of mankind, died in 1779, and 
was succeeded in the Presidency by his son, the Hon. John 
Wheelock, who held the office for a period of thirty-six 
years. The first Commencement was in 1771 ; the first class 
of graduates consisted of four, of whom one was the second 
President. After the Revolutionary war, he visited Europe 
to solicit aid for the College, and obtained valuable benefac- 
tions. Dartmouth Hall, the largest of the present edifices, 
was erected in 1786. 

President John Wheelock's successors in office have been 
the Rev. Drs. Brown, Dana, Tyler, and Lord. Including a 
respectable Medical Institution connected with it, the College 
has eight professorships, and libraries containing near 15,000 
volumes. The present number of students, not including 
those of the Medical Department, is about 170. The whole 
number of graduates exceeds 1700, of whom 549 have been 



1770.] period vii.— 1741— 17G3. 117 

Ministers of the Gospel. Many of the graduates have risen 
to the highest stations, executive, legislative, judicial and liter- 
ary. Soon after the College was founded, the troubles atten- 
dant on the Revolutionary War interrupted the intercourse 
with the Indian tribes, and made it impracticable to obtain 
to any extent, their youth for the purpose of educating them. 
But though the particular end for which it was established 
lias chiefly failed, it has yet accomplished other ends, of great 
magnitude and importance. The founders, if living, would 
have the satisfaction of knowing that it has produced its full 
share of eminent men in all the learned professions, and been 
extensively useful to mankind. 

The sending of an armed force to Boston was justly regarded 
by the Colonies as an effort to rivet the chains which had 
been forged for them. Frequent disputes arose between the 
soldiers and citizens ; on the 5th of March, 1770, a party of the 
soldiers, having been highly provoked, fired on a collection of 
people and killed five persons. This event raised the popular 
resentment to the point of high exasperation. The merchants 
of some of the Colonies threatened to withdraw from all 
commercial intercourse with Portsmouth, unless the non- 
importation agreement were adopted there: a threat which 
moved the merchants and people of that town to unite in the 
measure with their brethren abroad, the influence of the 
Governor and crown officers notwithstanding. Opposition to 
the duties now became so menacing, and the complaints of 
the English merchants and manufacturers, whose business was 
curtailed by the non-importation agreement of the Americans, 
became so loud, as to induce the British Government to repeal 
the duties with the single exception of a duty of three pence 
per pound on tea. This being retained avowedly as an asser- 
tion of the right of Parliament to tax America, the opposition 
of the colonists was not diminished by the partial repeal, and 
they entered into an agreement not to import tea. By the mass 
of the people, the use of this favorite beverage was quite laid 
aside ; the few who drank it being compelled to do it secretly, 
for fear of falling under suspicion of indifference to the liber- 
ties of the country. Instances were not wanting of tea 
parties sipping from the cup even in cellars and garrets, for 
the sake of eluding discovery. 

Down to this period all the Judicial Courts had been holden, 
and the public offices kept at Portsmouth. The labor and ex- 
pense of resorting thither bore hard on the people of the cen- 
tral and western towns and had long been a matter of complaint. 
The rapid increase of population in the western and northern 



118 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1772. 

sections of the Province called aloud for the redress of the 
grievance. After many delays and difficulties, the Assembly 
passed an act dividing the territory into five Counties, and 
establishing the necessary courts : the plan however was not 
to go into operation till the King's approbation should be 
signified, which was not done till 1771 . Four of the Counties, 
Rockingham, Strafford, Hillsborough, and Grafton, were thus 
named by Gov. Wentworth after English noblemen to whom 
he was attached ; Cheshire, after the County of that name in 
England. Straftbrdand Grafton, then containing a less popu- 
lation than the others, were not admitted to exercise a distinct 
jurisdiction till 1773. By subsequent divisions of the old 
Counties, three new ones have been added : Coos, in 1803 ; 
JMerrimac, in 1823 ; and Sullivan, in 1826. 

Two hunters, named Nash and Sawyer, in their excursious 
in the northern woods, discovered about this time the celebra- 
ted Notch or Gap of the White Mountains — a vast ravine, 
inferior in extent and magnificence to none in the world. — 
They received from the Province a grant of 2000 acres of land, 
near the Notch, in reward of the discovery. To all the pro- 
prietors of lands on the upper part of Connecticut river, the 
discovery was one of great importance, as furnishing their 
nearest outlet to the ocean. The pass soon began to be used 
as a channel of communication. Not many years afterwards, 
an affecting incident imparted to it a melancholy interest, in 
addition to that derived from the wildness and grandeur of 
the scenery. A young woman who had been residing at Jef- 
ferson, set out in winter to meet her lover in Portsmouth, un- 
der the expectation of being there united to him in marriage. 
Her course lay through the^Notch. From Jefferson to Bart- 
lett, a distance of thirty miles, there was no house, and only 
a horse path for a road. She advanced with extreme difficulty 
more than twenty miles, when, overcome with cold and the 
fatigue of walking in deep snows, she w'rapped herself in her 
cloak, lay down under a small tree, fell asleep, and never awoke. 
About a month afterwards she was found — a stiffened corpse. 
The tree under which she slept the sleep of death,is still pointed 
out to the traveller as The Maid's Tree. 

Mr. Livius, a member of the Council, having conceived a 
disgust at some measures of the Governor, repaired to Eng- 
land in 1772 and exhibited a complaint against him. On the 
first hearing before the Lords of Trade, their report was un- 
favorable to Wentworth ; but on a re-hearing before a Com- 
mittee of the King's Council, he was fully acquitted. This 
result was very acceptable to the people, and to the Assembly, 



1773.] period vii.— 1763— 1775. 119 

who at their next session presented to the Governor an Ad- 
dress of congratulation. Thus far he had retained the good 
will of the people : but the circumstances of the times placed 
him in an extremely difficult situation, and the necessity on 
his part of supporting the arbitrary acts of Parliament soon 
impelled him to measures, taken indeed with evident reluct- 
auce, by which he forfeited his popularity. 

In 1773 the doctrine of universal sah ation was first preached 
in New-Hampshire, by Mr. Murray of Boston. His efforts 
were followed a few years afterwards by the establishment at 
Portsmouth of a church holding this principle. Others have 
since been formed in a considerable number of towns. 

Benjamin Thompson, afterwards the celebrated Count Rum- 
ford, a native of Woburn, Ms., came to reside in the Province 
not far from the commencement of the year. He taught school 
in Concord with success, and married a widow lady, daughter 
of the Rev. and venerable Timothy Walker, the first minister 
of this town. Possessing remarkable attractions both of person 
and manners, he received many attentions, and was particu- 
larly noticed by Gov. Wentworth, who offered him a military 
commission. Little did his acquaintances here anticipate the 
height of distinction to which he was destined to rise. His 
attachment to the British cause made his residence in New- 
Hampshire undesirable, and he repaired to England. There 
he gained the acquaintance and patronage of noblemen, and 
acquired the honor of knighthood. Some flattering propo- 
sals induced him to enter the service of the Duke of Bavaria, 
in which country he was eminently useful, rose to the highest 
military rank, and was admitted into the order of nobility. — 
A recollection of his early attachments in Concord, then called 
Rumford, led him to add to his high title the name of Rum- 
ford. As a practical philosopher and philanthropist, his fame 
spread through Europe and America ; and after his death in 
France in 1814, an Eulogy on his character and scientific dis- 
coveries was iead before the National Institute. His career 
is a striking instance of genius emerging from poverty and 
obscurity, to the highest distinction. He evinced his friendly 
remembrance of his native land by handsome bequests to 
Harvard University, and the American Academy of Arts and 
Sciences. 

Surveys of considerable portions of the Province w T ere made 
in 1773 and 1774 by Mr. Holland, and the results exhibited in 
a large Map, which, some years after, was engraven in Lon- 
don, and published under the direction of Paul Wentworth, 
Esq. 



120 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. 1774.] 

The non-importation of tea having occasioned an accumu- 
lation of this article in the warehouses of the East India Com- 
pany, they were authorized to export their own teas on 
payment of the duty of three pence per pound, and sent sev- 
eral cargoes to America. At some of the Colonial ports it 
was not permitted to he landed, and at Boston it was thrown 
into the sea. The first cargo destined for Portsmouth was 
landed in June, 1774, but the people compelled the consignee 
to reship and send it away. A second cargo arriving after- 
wards, consigned to the same person, the windows of his 
lodgings were broken, and he thought it necessary to apply to 
the Governor for protection. This cargo also he was obliged 
to reship, and send to Halifax. 

Prior to these transactions,the Assembly had chosen a Com- 
mittee of correspondence to communicate with the other Col- 
onies on the common dangers, and the means of averting 
them : on which the Governor adjourned, and soon after dis- 
solved them, in the hope that after this step the Committee 
would not venture to act. He found himself disappointed. — 
At the call of the Committee the assembly met again ; and 
though the Governor went among them, declared their meet- 
ing illegal, and ordered them to disperse — yet as soon as he 
had retired, they proceeded to write to all the towns in the 
Province, inviting them to send deputies to meet in Conven- 
tion at Exeter, for the purpose of electing delegates to a Gen- 
eral Congress of the American Colonies. In reference to 
the public dangers, they appointed a day of fasting and prayer, 
which the people observed with much solemnity. On this 
occasion the Ministers of the Gospel, who were almost una- 
nimously the advocates of the cause of liberty, warned their 
congregations of the unhallowed designs of arbitrary power, 
and cast whatever of influence they possessed into the scale 
of their country's rights. 

The Convention, to the number of eighty-five Dep- 
uties, met in July, and chose Nathaniel Folsom and 
John Sullivan to represent New-Hampshire in the first 
American Congress. Money to meet the expense of the del- 
egation, the towns furnished by the voluntary contribution of 
their just proportions. In every part of the Province town- 
meetings were holden, in which the people passed resolutions 
expressive of their abhorrence of the measures of the British 
Government, and their unalterable determination to maintain 
their liberties. Gov. Wentworth, attached as he was to the 
British interests, now saw that it would be impossible to pre- 
vent New-Hampshire making common cause with the other 



1774.] period vii.— 1763— 1775. 121 

Colonies, and acknowledged the fact in his letters to the Eng- 
lish Ministry. He beheld a power— that of public opinion — 
rising into vigorous action, which he found himself utterly 
unable to resist. The appellations of Whig and Tory had 
now come into common use, the former designating the friends 
of American liberty, the latter the supporters of British pre- 
tensions. 

Several regiments of British troops under Gen. Gage occu- 
pied Boston ; and the trade of the town was ruined by the 
oppressive Act of Parliament, closing the harbor and remov- 
ing the custom house to Salem. Liberal contributions in money 
and provisions, were made not only in this Province, but in 
most others, for the relief of the inhabitants, of whom not a 
few were reduced to beggary by the cessation of business. — 
In this gloomy state of things the Continental Congress met 
in September at Philadelphia. Their proceedings were marked 
with wisdom and moderation. They approved the opposition 
of Massachusetts to the measures of the Ministry ; declared 
the resolution of all the Colonies to stand by that Province ; 
agreed upon a Declaration of Rights ; bound themselves and 
their constituents not to import British goods ; and framed a 
petition to the King, and an address to the British Nation. 

Gov. Wentworth had thus far given less offence to the 
friends of liberty than any other of the royal Governors in 
America. His personal character was amiable : but he found 
it impossible both to please the English Ministry, and avoid 
offending the people of his Province. The British troops in 
Boston being destitute of barracks, and the carpenters of that 
place refusing to work for them, the Governor, on the appli- 
cation of Gen. Gage, secretly employed an Agent to hire 
carpenters in Portsmouth. His conduct in this particular was 
openly denounced, even by some of his own family connec- 
tions, who on this occasion silenced the voice of nature to 
give ear to the voice of patriotism — the cry of reprobation was 
loud— his influence rapidly declined— and the effective power 
of government was transferred to the Committee of Safety, 
a body of men deriving their authority from the people through 
the medium of the Convention, and appointed to watch over 
the public interests. Strong popular feeling gave to the 
recommendations of the Committee all the force of law. 

The proceedings of the Continental Congress perfectly 
accorded with the feelings of the people. At a meeting of 
the town of Portsmouth, it was voted to adhere to the non- 
importation association, to cnoose a Committee to observe 
the conduct of all persons hi relation to it, and in case of any 
L 



122 HisTORf Of neW-hampshire. [1775. 

being "hardy enough to violate it," to expose them by publish- 
ing their names in the Gazette. They bore "testimony against 
every species of gambling," and enjoined industry aud frugal- 
ity. The heavy expenses formerly incurred in the matter of 
funerals and mourning dresses, were by general consent 
curtailed ; little was retained except mourning badges of 
black crape or ribbon. 

Near the close of this eventful year, an express arrived 
from Boston with the intelligence,, that the King in Council 
had prohibited the exportation of gunpowder and military 
stores to America. It was also ascertained that armed vessels 
were to be sent with troops, to occupy the Fort commanding 
the entrance of Portsmouth harbor. The fort contained con- 
siderable quantities of powder, cannon, and small arms*— * 
Aware of the importance of securing these articles, John 
Sullivan of Durham, John Langdon, and Thomas Pickering 
of Portsmouth, collected a body of men, seized the Fort, and 
carried off an hundred barrels of powder, the small arms, and 
the lighter pieces of cannon, before the Governor even suspec- 
ted the design. It was a bold but well timed enterprise, 
executed just before the arrival of the Scarborough Frigate 
and a sloop of war, with a party of soldiers from Boston, who 
came too late to effect their purpose. Secretary Atkinson, 
who was personally a friend to Langdon, told him he must 
instantly flee the country, or h>s head would be "the button 
for a gallows rope before the expiration of a week :" on which 
the by-standers declared that they would protect him at all 
hazards. The arrival of the vessels of war with a military 
force, emboldened Governor Wentworth and his friends to 
associate for the support of the King's government ; but all 
the strength he could command was utterly incompetent to 
cope with the force of the Province. A second Convention 
of Delegates, chosen by the towns, met at Exeter in Jan. 1775, 
elected John Sullivan and John Langdon Delegates from 
New-Hampshire to the second Continental Congress, and 
appointed a Committee of Correspondence to watch over the 
public safety. 

The remaining part of the winter was passed in a state of 
suspense. Of the course which the British Ministry might 
decide to pursue, the people waited for intelligence with the 
deepest anxiety. The first spring ships brought reports that 
the prospects in England were favorable to conciliation ; but 
subsequent arrivals brought news of a very different aspect, 
importing that the petition of Congress to the King had been 
.contemptiously rejected, that he had demanded an augmenta- 



1775.] period tii.— 1763— 1775. 123 

tion of his forces both naval and military, and that now Acts 
had been passed by Parliament to restrain the commerce and 
fisheries of the Colonists* Dr. Franklin, then in England, 
wrote home to the Secretary of Congress, "The sun of liberty 
is set : you must light up the candles of industry and econo- 
my." Apprehending that war Was inevitable, the Bostonians 
began to remove into the country. No alternative was left the 
Americans but submission or open resistance ; and everv 
month made it more apparent that the controversy mutt be 
decided by the bloody arbitrament of the sword. 

These were the times that tried men's souls. On the eve 
of this contest with the power of Britain, the Thirteen United 
Colonies contained 3,000,000 inhabitants, of whom about 90,- 
000 were in New-Hampshire. Of the events of the war, the 
plan of this work will not admit of any considerable detail ; 
those only can be noticed with much particularity which oc- 
curred in the immediate vicinity, or in which the New- 
Hampshire troops took an active part. 

In the course of the twelve years included in this Period, 
an unusual number of eminent persons deceased. Richard 
and Thomas Wibird, Esquires, brothers and merchants in 
Portsmouth, both died in 1765, leaving a very respectable 
reputation as men and Christians. Richard was a member of 
the Council, and Judge of Probate. Thomas left handsome 
legacies to Harvard College, to Dr. Wheelock's Indian School, 
and to the North Church in Portsmouth. The Hon. Henry 
Sherburne, a man "constant and zealous in his devotional 
exercises," and warmly attached to christian institutions, died 
in 1767 — having been for many years Speaker of the Assem- 
bly, a Counsellor, and a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 
the duties of which offices he discharged with great fidelity. 
The year 1770 is the era of the death ofMr. Whitefield, which 
occurred at Newbury Port. In the week preceding his death, 
he preached several times at Portsmouth and Exeter, in the 
open fields, to audiences so numerous that none of the build- 
ings could contain them. Such was the public sense of his 
loss, that on the day of his funeral the bells of Portsmouth 
were tolled for several hours. These deaths were succeeded 
after no long intervals by those of Thomas Packer, who had 
been for thirty years Sheriffof the Province; of Col. Thomas 
Wallingford of Somersworth, an extensive landholder and a 
Judge of the Superior Court ; of Sampson Sheafe, a princi- 
pal merchant, and member of the Council j of the Rev. Arthur 
Browne, who had long been the minister of the Episcopal 
society in Portsmouth ; and of the Hon, Daniel Peirce, Re- 



124 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE [1775. 

corcler of Deeds and a Counsellor. Mr. Peirce "read much 
in Divinity, not as a science, but as a rule of conduct. Dr. 
Doddridge was his favorite author, and the maxims deduced 
from these studies regulated him both in public and private 
life." These brief notices make it apparent, that many of 
the public characters of New-Hampshire at that day, were 
men who cherished a deep reverence for the christian reli- 
gion. This was extensively the fact in New-England at large. 
May the Legislators and influential men of succeeding gener- 
ations follow so praiseworthy an example. 



PERIOD VIII 



FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR IN 
1775, TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PRESENT CONSTITU- 
TION OF THE STATE IN 1784. 

The first scene in the great drama of the Revolutionary 
war was opened at Lexington on the 19th of April, 1775. A 
quantity of military stores and provisions having been collected 
at Concord, Ms., the British Commander in Boston despatched 
a force to seize or destroy them. At Lexington, these troops 
found the militia of the town drawn up on the green to oppose 
them. The British Major Pitcairn rode toward the militia, 
crying out, "Disperse, you rebels, throw down your arms and 
disperse." Not being .obeyed, he came nearer, discharged his 
pistol and ordered his men to fire — eight of the militia fell 
dead on the spot, and the rest retreated. After the enemy had 
departed, the bodies of the slain were carried into Lexington 
meeting house, some of the seats of which for a time after- 
wards exhibited the stains of their blood. The troops proceeded 
to Concord, and destroyed a part of the stores ; but were 
attacked on their retreat by the militia of the neighboring- 
towns, and must inevitably have been cut off, had they not 
met on the way a powerful reinforcement. Their total loss 
was 250 men ; that of the Americans, about eighty. 

The intelligence of this battle spread over the country like 
a roll of thunder, and aroused all America. It found Stark at 
work in his sawmill, and many others ploughing in their fields, 
who, instantly dropping the implements of labor, seized the 
the sword or musket, and hastened to the post of danger. In 
a few days ten thousand men, of whom 1200 were New- 
Hampshire militia, invested Boston. As many of the troops 
of this Province as it was thought necessary to retain, were 
formed into two regiments, under Colonels John Stark of 
Manchester and James Rcid of Londonderry. 

In May a new Assembly . of Representatives, chosen in 
L* 



126 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE, [1775, 

compliance with the Governor's Writs of Election, met at 
Portsmouth, to whom he earnestly recommended the adoption 
of conciliatory measures. For the purpose of consulting their 
constituents they requested a short recess, which he granted 
by adjourning them to the twelfth of June. A few days after 
their adjournment, a third Convention of Delegates from an 
hundred and two towns, chosen at the request of the Commit- 
tee of Correspondence, met at Exeter, and chose Matthew 
Thornton, then of Londonderry, to be their President, In 
this body was included a full and equal representation of the 
people. The lormer Legislative Assemblies had been consti- 
tuted of Representatives from those towns only to whom the 
Governor thought proper to send Writs of Election. In many 
instances, towns respectable for age and population had been 
left unrepresented. 

The Convention took a bold stand, and adopted the most 
energetic measures for the support of the American cause.— 
In addition to the two regiments already in service, they voted 
to raise a third, to be commanded by Col. Poor ; the whole to 
consist of 2000 men. They elected a new Secretary and 
Treasurer, and appointed a Committee of Supplies for the 
army, and a Committee of Safety, the latter of which con- 
stituted the Supreme Executive, and possessed in the recess 
of the Convention very extensive powers. Secretary Atkinsom 
declined to deliver the records of his office, alleging that it 
would be an act contrary to his honor and his oath ; but stated 
that he had no thoughts of attempting to maintain possession 
of them by force. Their removal being considered indispen- 
sable to their safety, a Committee of the Convention afterwards 
entered his office, and in opposition to his remonstrances took 
possession of the archives, and removed them to Exeter. — 
They offered him a receipt for the papers, which he refused 
to receive ; declaring that he would be concerned in tho 
transaction only as a passive spectator. The Convention 
emitted bills of credit, which for some time passed as current 
money ; reorganized the Militia into twelve regiments, out of 
which they enlisted four regiments of minute-men ; provided 
a force for the defence of Portsmouth harbor, and a company 
of rangers to protect the new settlements on Connecticut 
river, which had been extended northward to Stewartstown. 
The few scattered inhabitants of the most northern towns 
deserted their habitations after the commencement of hostili- 
ties. For the security of those who resided lower down the 
river, a small fort was constructed in Northumberland, and 
entrusted to the command of Capt. EameSc 



1775.] period viii.— 1775— 1784. 127 

As a specimen of the feelings which extensively pervaded 
the people of New-Hampshire in this day of peril, the reader 
may take the following extract from an Address of the- Con- 
vention to their constituents, of the date of June : — "We 
seriously and earnestly recommend the practice of that pure 
and undefiled religion, which embalmed the memory of our 
pious ancestors, as that alone on which we can build a solid 
hope and confidence in the Diving protection and favor — 
without whose blessing, all the means of safety we have or 
can propose, will end in our shame and disappointment." 

Between the inhabitants of Portsmouth, and the crew of 
the Scarborough Frigate, then lying in the harbor, subsisted 
strong feelings of suspicion and hostility. The crew began 
to dismantle the Fort, and to capture vessels bringing to the 
town supplies of provisions. A party of citizens, desirous of 
preserving for the future exigencies of the country, all the 
military stores within their reach, went to a battery on Great 
Island, and seized and brought off eight pieces of heavy can- 
non. 

Soon after this transaction the Assembly, at the expiration 
of their adjournment, again met, when the Governor renew- 
edly recommended measures of conciliation. But he found 
the public mind in such a temper as rendered it utterly un- 
manageable. He had sent Writs of Election to three towns 
not before represented, in which resided some of his political 
friends, in the expectation that they, would be returned as 
members. The House expelled the members from these 
towns ; on which he again adjourned the Assembly, without 
giving them an opportunity to pass any further acts. One of 
the expelled members venturing to speak reproachfully of 
the friends of liberty, was threatened with an assault, and 
compelled to flee for refuge to the Governor's house. In a 
peremptory manner the people demanded that he should be 
given up ; Wentworth refused to comply ; but a mounted 
cannon being pointed at his house, he yielded to the demand. 
After this open insult he took up his residence in the Fort, 
under protection of the Frigate, and his house was plundered. 
In a leter to Secretary Atkinson dated from "Castle William 
and Mary," he says, "We shall rejoice exceedingly to see you 
in this our pleasant retirement, where we breathe a good air, 
and have some safety from unreasonable attacks." 

On the 17th of June was fought the sanguinary battle of 
Bunker hill. A party of Americans had thrown up in the 
preceding night a small redoubt, about eight rods square, on 
the summit of Breed's hill in Charlestown. As soon as the 



128 HISTORY OF NEW'HAMPSHIRE. [1775. 

dawn of morning disclosed the work to the view of the British 
in Boston, they poured upon it an incessant shower of shot 
and bombs ; in despite of which, our men continued to work 
till they had constructed a slight breastwork, extending from 
the east side of the redoubt towards Mystic river. The enemy 
then determined to storm the works. Soon after noon, (the 
day being exceedingly hot) the flower of their army crossed 
from Boston to Charlestown, and landed at Moreton's Point. 
While the main body of the Americans occupied the redoubt, 
a detachment of New-Hampshire militia was posted behind 
the breastwork, extending eastward towards the Mystic. — 
Thousands of spectators on the steeples and roofs in in Boston, 
and on all the neighboring hills, stood gazing, and awaiting 
in breathless suspense the issue of the approaching conflict. In 
the mean time Charlestown was set on fire by order of the 
British General, in the hope that the smoke of the conflagra- 
tion wonld favor the approach of his troops — the lofty steeple 
of the Church forming a pyramid of fire, towering far above 
the other sheets of flame. The British lines advanced slowly 
to the assault ; the Americans sustained their fire till they 
came within twelve rods, and then poured upon the enemy 
such a destructive fire as compelled them to retreat with pre- 
cipitate confusion, leaving the declivity strewed with the dead 
and wounded. Again they formed, and renewed the attack ; 
it was a second time followed with the same disastrous result. 
Some British officers exclaimed, "It is downwright butchery 
to lead on the men afresh :" — but an high sense of honor im- 
pelled them to the effort. On the third attack, the ammunition 
of the Americans failed ; after opposing for a little space the 
but-ends of their muskets to the British bayonets, they were 
compelled to yield the redoubt to the enemy. The New- 
Hampshire troops, posted behind the breast work on the left 
of the main body, behaved with distinguished bravery, and 
made good the defence of their position, till the loss of the 
redoubt exposed them to the danger of having their retreat 
cut off— when they reluctantly retired. In the battle, and in 
the retreat over Charlestown neck, where they were exposed 
to a raking fire from ships of War, they lost several men ; 
among whom they particularly lamented Major Andrew Mc- 
Clary, of Epsom, who was killed by a cannon shot, and Capt 
Baldwin of Hillsborough. The British loss, in killed and 
wounded, was more than 1000 men ; that of the Americans, 
less than 400. To the former, the battle had all the consequen- 
ces of a defeat ; to the latter, those of a victory. All the rest 



177q.] period viii.— 1775— 1784. 129 

of the year the British were cooped up in Boston, unable to 
undertake any enterprise of importance. 

It is a remarkable fact that the sound of cannon at Bunker 
Hill was distinctly heard, by applying the ear to the ground, 
at several places in the interior of this State, particularly at 
Plymouth, Hanover, and Haverhill, some of them distant 
from the scene of action more than 100 miles. However 
strange it may be thought, the matter is established by the tes- 
timony of witnesses so numerous and respectable, as to place 
it beyond reasonable doubt. It belongs to history to verify 
the fact : an explanation of it must be sought elsewhere. 

The Scarborough continued to intercept vessels bound to 
Portsmouth, and prevented the fishing boats of the town from 
going out of the harbor. The inhabitants retaliated by refu- 
sing to allow the frigate any supplies of fresh provisions. On 
thedeparture of the armed vessels for Boston, parties of vol- 
unteers, under Maj. Worthen, seized the opportunity to erect 
two new forts on Trefethen and Pierce's islands, forming a 
narrow channel about a mile below Portsmouth. These for- 
tifications were furnished with cannon, and were thought to 
add much to the security of the town. 

In September, Gov. Wentworth, who had taken passsage^ 
to Boston in one of the ships of war, returned to the Isles of 
Shoals, and from Gosport issued a Proclamation for another 
adjournment of the Assembly. Soon after this last act of his 
administration here, he took his final leave of New-Hamp- 
shire. His disposition was amiable, and his measures as 
moderate as could be expected from one, who was under ofn- 
cial obligation to oppose the American cause. He watched 
with intense solicitude, the progress of the controversy, and 
his wishes to effect a reconciliation between the Colonies and 
the mother country, were unquestionably sincere. His feel- 
ings are strongly depicted in the following extract of a letter 
to one of his friends : " Our atmosphere threatens an hurri- 
cane. I have in vain striven almost to death to prevent it.— ■ 
If I can at last bring but of it safety to my country and honor 
to my sovereign, my labors will be joyful." When the Brit- 
ish troops evacuated Boston, he went with them to Nova- 
Scotia. He was afterwards Governor of this Province, and 
died there in 1820, at an advanced age. 

By the conflagration of Portland, by a British naval force, 
in October, fears were excited that an attempt would be made 
to inflict on Portsmouth a similar injury. Washington, having 
taken the chief command of the American army, sent Gen. 
Sullivan, who had been appointed a Major General by Con- 



VTSHIKX. 



- ::» superintend the preparatio: - r^-:. The forts 

-epaired ; an attempt was mai m a boom across 

- 

s \ared to burn the ene* 

into the count- 
« round sufficient empleyineii: 
the &pf«ehende : . - ade, 

a southeast 3iuh light 

- . - - - 
p tcscnt ing an inhospitable and dreary aspect. F i 
belong to Maine rgestieSiai 

ktaad, t n—aimaj, 150 acres, are \ 
rlamr^ure 

? - - - 

- - • - ■ ■ -.'■>■ /- 

■ ■-« ■ ■ - 

nTes*edv« F:r:v 

the islands had been populous, con- 
aiedng some hunch* aaV e enraged in the fisheries. — 

" - ; 
vrfr- .::--. :„:i: :i; _:v :h.:.\.r : *: ..-::.-: ? :; \ 
;_- ::;".t j - : ; ;:*;; -. l> -..-. r :-:.;■ — :: '—-: ::... .-- 
.a i ■■ - -j .:.::;-:-■■":-. : : : -. i-.n:;:::*: : per* nil safety, 
but bT a patriotic rersrd :: ri-can cause. The princi- 

7^ :l_._ ..•:.-_-..- :.:: :: : . .: J .; ■ --. - - • - ■- :: : - - ::v.-j : i :!.-: : --.--- 
hat mi coast : and as *■ business 

of the isiands was almost w aned n or have d nw- 

In mis place as well as in any other, we may break the thread 
of the narration, by stating a few addraooal particulars in reia- 

- I 

: ' : •_ .-■ _r . : . .". • ..: .: : _~ .""_« --;.:: :z ;'.: ~s.i : - y : - 

i nsberies. In the rocks are many chasms— -one of 

- - - .: : r- : ■.:_-£ ...'.-.:..- :1 - ry'.i . ." " _ : re i rein:, "e. 

. concealed herself when the Indians 

':.-.-: • -■ ..:..". " i i ly s: :: :i :. ; v - « := :il--i 
V.' .:_ -.: 

_tere are 

:- :_ 

f *- . —.- : - 
::" 

a hirii price. The drink of the 
tiwnr, a Bqpor composed of spruce beer 






pxaroD tiii. — 1773 — 13 

Treat injur: fcotl .; 

rid men I- r 

- ■ - 

I 

their ; — 

to neglect your d 
catch : 
ship * 

■ 
T 

i- -— " ■ : 

1732, the 

Tucke was ordainei ^se Islands, and 

iied to the tLshercner- irs. 

The sercaon art 
Fitch of Portsmouth from the appropria" 
you Ushers of me&," His saii- 

hution of a quir - -sherman, the whole 

niiml . -" 

- ! ■ ." 

an ample"* - 

two men na - --.-:.- 

dence they found th acd a ■ 

removal. " Whither shou:. ro 

they resorted to the sinsrul • - 

with the i-- ". . - 

happen to falL Per - 

and he accordii- - Gibbon s fell north- 

md in compliance with the intimation, he rem-: I 
that part of Maine ■£ - known - I :ent. 

To return firom the digr — ' Ixeter. 

which has beer. ~ je months, coBtiiiiieal 

their labors with little intermission, and exercised a 
live powers of government. By the disolution of tin 



132 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [177G 

government, an event necessarily resulting from the final 
departure of the Governor and some of the Counsellors, the 
affairs of the Province were thrown into a critical state. A 
conviction that some kind of civil Constitution, suited to the 
public exigencies, must be formed — and that without delay — 
became general : and it led to an application to the Continen- 
tal Congress for advice. It was given — and in pursuance of 
it, the Convention called on the towns to elect another Con- 
vention, to meet in December, empowered to assume govern- 
ment and frame a Constitution, to continue in force during 
the War. The new Convention met at Exeter in December, 
and elected Col. Thornton to be their President. As soon as 
possible after their meeting, they prepared a "Plan of Gov- 
ernment," and then resolved themselves into an House of 
Representatives. The new Plan created a Council of twelve 
persons, to be chosen in the first instance by the House, and 
to constitute a co-ordinate branch of the Legislature. It 
provided that a new Legislature should be elected annually 
by the people ; that no act should be valid, unless passed by 
both branches ; that the public officers of the Province, and 
and the General and field Officers of the Militia, should be 
elected by the two Houses. It established the necessary Ju- 
dicial Courts. The executive powers were to be exercised by 
the the two Houses when in session ; and in their recess, by a 
Committee of Safety appointed by the Legislature, the 
President of the Council to be President of this Executive 
Committee. This Constitution, hastily prepared, and of course 
deficient in its provisions,went into operation in January 1776. 
Meshech Weare of Hampton Falls, a man remarkable for fi- 
delity and unwearied application to business, was elected 
President of the Council, and appointed Chief Justice of the 
Superior Court. The confidence of his fellow-citizens invest- 
ed him with the highest offices, legislative, executive, and ju- 
dicial ; and continued him at tbe head of the government 
during the war, and afterwards, till age compelled him to retire 
to the shade of private life. 

Among the reasons assigned by the Convention to justify 
their assumption of government, were the following : — the 
oppressive acts of the British Government ; the invasion of 
the country by its troops ; the sudden and abrupt departure of 
the late Governor ; the fact that no Courts were open for the 
trial and punishment of offenders, p and that the property and 
lives of the inhabitants were of course in a state of insecurity. 

In March, the Council and Assembly sitting at Exeter,issued 
a Proclamation, stating that they had established a Plan of 



1776.] period viii.— 1775— 1784. 133 

Government, and appointed the necessary officers for the 
administration of Justice in the several Counties ; and forbid- 
ding all persons to claim or exercise any civil jurisdiction not 
derived from them. 

Even at this period, the Legislature had not relinquished all 
expectations of a satisfactory adjustment of the controversy 
with Great Britain. In the preamble of the Instrument which 
created the Plan of Government, and introduced into New- 
Hampshire a Republican system of polity, they say, " We 
shall rejoice if such a reconciliation between us and our parent 
State can be effected, as shall be approved by the Continental 
Congress." They were at the same time determined not to 
yield the great points in debate. Popular resentment had for 
some time run high against those who justified the oppressive 
measures of the British Ministry, or refused to unite with their 
fellow citizens in the defence of American liberties. Some of 
these individuals had withdrawn to Nova Scotia, or sought 
refuge with the British troops in Boston ; while others had 
been imprisoned or restrained within the limits of their res- 
pective towns or neighborhoods. In some instances which 
occurred in Massachusetts, a guard was set over them at their 
own houses : a circumstance which led one of them, a man of 
wit, who had been repeatedly put under guard at home, to 
remark that " he was guarded, regarded, and disregarded." 
That some of these persons were treated with an harshness, 
as unnecessary as it was repugnant to the princijjles of human- 
ity, is not to be denied. 

The investment of Boston was in the mean time continued. 
Among the numerous forces who surrounded the town, were 
sixteen companies of New-Hampshire militia, who, on the 
expiration of the enlistment of the Connecticut troops, had 
marched to Cambridge to supply their places. Alarmed at the 
fortifications constructed on Dorchester heights, the British 
fleet and army, in March, evacuated Boston and repaired to 
Halifax, carrying with them numbers of American adherents 
to the royal cause, who fled from the indignation of their 
countrymen. Washington entered the town with colors dis- 
played, drums beating, and other demonstrations of triumph. 
It exhibited but a melancholy spectacle — the public buildings- 
having been defaced, the churches stripped of their pews and 
benches for fuel, and many of the houses and stores plun- 
dered by the soldiery. 

Four regiments were raised in New-Hampshire for the 
service of 1776. One, raised in the western part of the Pro- 
vince under Col. Bedel, was destined to act in Canada. The 
M 



134 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE- [1776. 

others marched under Washington to New- York, then sup- 
posed to be the intended point of attack on the part of the 
British. Soon after their arrival, they were placed under the 
command of Gen. Sullivan and ordered to Canada, to reinforce 
the troops, who, having invaded that country, had been defea- 
ted under the walls of Quebec, and were retreating before a 
superior force. At the mouth of the Sorel, Sullivan met the 
retreating army ; but found the united forces of the Americans 
unable to cope with the enemy. The small pox spread through 
the camp and disabled many of the men. A considerable 
body of New-Hampshire troops, stationed at a post called The 
Cedars, forty miles above Montreal, were captured by a force 
of British and Indians, who had descended the St. Lawrence 
to attack them. In consequence of the death of Gen. Thomas 
by the small pox, and the capture of Gen. Thompson, Sullivan 
succeeded to the chief command ; and finding a retreat indis- 
pensable, conducted it with much address ; the British pursuing 
so closely as hardly to allow the men time to cook their 
victuals. In June the Americans evacuated Canada, and not 
long after retired to Ticonderoga. 

In the midst of these hostilities, the Colonies had continued 
to profess allegiance to the King, and a wish for reconciliation 
with Britain. Some of the bolder spirits had indeed been 
long ripe for a declaration of Independence : but the mass of 
the people were not so soon prepared for so adventurous a 
step. The progress of the contest gradually produced a con- 
viction that resistance had gone too far to admit a cordial 
reconciliation, and that a return, on any terms, to their former 
connection with an irritated government, woidd be hazardous. 
These views at length inclined the people at large to take a 
bold stand. In June, the Legislature of New-Hampshire, 
following the example of some other Colonies, passed a reso- 
lution, empowering and instructing their Delegates in Congress 
to unite with those of the other Colonies in a Declaration of 
Independence. Such a Declaration was issued on the 4th of 
July, by which the Thirteen United Colonies became 
free, sovereign, and independent States, and all political con- 
nexion between them and Great Britain was forever dissolved. 
This measure was hailed with enthusiasm by a great majority 
of the people. The Declaration was brought by express to 
Exeter, and read by John Taylor Gilman to an assemblage 
of his fellow citizens, listening with unutterable emotions ; his 
own mind at one moment being so transported with the feelings 
inspired by the great event, as to render him for a little time 
incapable of proceeding in the reading. In the shire towns of 



1777.] period viii.— 1775— 1784. 135 

the several Counties it was published with the beat of (hum. 
The signers on the part of New-Hampshire of this memorable 
Instrument, were John Langdon and William Whipple of 
Portsmouth, and Matthew Thornton of Londonderry. From 
this time the style of Colony or Province was discontinued, 
and the more important one of State assumed. 

It were foreign from our plan to detail the reverses of the 
American army near New- York, and their disastrous retreat, 
pressed by a victorious enemy, across New- Jersey into Penn- 
sylvania, Late in the year, the regiments of this State, with 
ranks thinned by the united ravages of small pox, dysentery, 
and putrid fever, marched from Ticonderoga, joined the rem- 
nant of the army under Washington, and materially assisted 
in the brilliant affairs of Trenton and Princeton : successes, 
which stemmed the tide of disaster and revived the drooping 
spirits of the country. Notwithstanding the army was ill fed, 
and so miserably clad, that their marches might have been 
traced by the blood which oozed from their naked feet ; — the 
New-Hampshire troops evinced a noble devotion to the cause 
of their country, and at the earnest solicitation of Generals 
Sullivan and Stark, consented to serve amid these privations 
and sufferings, for several weeks after the period of their 
enlistment had expired. Home, with all its attractions, could 
not induce them to leave, in the hour of peril, the standard of 
their country. 

The people of the " New-Hampshire Grants," forming the 
present State of Vermont, viewed the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence as " reducing them to a state of nature," and leav- 
ing them destitute of government. To the pretensions of 
New- York they were determined not to yield ; they indeed 
could not, without making their land titles invalid. After due 
deliberation, they concluded to organize themselves into a 
distinct and independent State. A Convention of Delegates 
from the several towns west of Connecticut river, met at 
Westminster, early in 1777; which declared the said territory 
to be an independent jurisdiction by the name of Vermont, 
ami mode application to Congress for the admission of their 
Delegates to seats in that body. The opposition of New- 
York at first, and afterwards that of New-Hampshire, defeat- 
sd their application, and several years elapsed before the 
recognition of their independence by the other States. In 
ihe mean time they maintained the ground they had taken, 
and exercised all the powers of an independent government, 

Three regiments were raised in New-Hampshire on long 
enlistments, commanded by Colonels Cilley, Hale, and Scam- 



136 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE [1777. 

mell, and sent on to Ticonderoga at the opening of the season, 
1777. The whole constituted a brigade under the command 
of Gen. Enoch Poor. On the approach of the British Gen. 
Burgoyne with a powerful army from Canada, Ticonderoga 
was judged to be indefensible, and was abandoned. The 
British pursued the retreating Americans, overtook Col. Hale's 
regiment, which formed the rear-guard, and made prisonors 
of the Colonel and one hundred of his men. In another 
skirmish on the retreat, Capt.Weare, son of President Weare, 
was mortally wounded. Under the command of General 
Schuyler, the American army retired to Stillwater, and thence 
to the Mohawk — taking care to obstruct the roads by felling 
trees and destroying bridges, so as to impede the advance of 
the enemy. The report of the evacuation of Ticonderoga, 
the Gibraltar of the north, struck New-England with aston- 
ishment and alarm. Vermont lay open to the ravages of the 
British. By the Committee of Safety of that State, an urgent 
application was made to New-Hampshire, advising that unless 
speedy and powerful aids were afforded, they should be over- 
run by the enemy and driven from their habitations. 

On the reception of this intelligence, the Legislature was 
immediately convened, and in a session of only three days 
adopted measures worthy of the crisis. They organized the 
whole of the militia into two brigades, under Generals Whip- 
ple and Stark, and detached the latter with a considerable 
force to arrest the progress of the enemy — authorizing him 
to act in conjunction with the troops of other States, or inde- 
pendently,as he might think proper. Funds were indispensable 
to meet the expenses of this expedition, and where to obtain 
them they knew not. In this emergency, Mr. Langdon, 
Speaker of the House, offered to loan the country three thou- 
sand hard dollars, together with the avails of his plate and of 
a quantity of West India produce then on his hands, remarking, 
that if the American cause were sustained he should get his 
pay — if otherwise, that the property would be of no value to 
nim. He also engaged in the service as a volunteer, and 
other distinguished citizens folio utd ido pati-iotJp pyample — 
Gen. Stark collected his troops at Bennington on the ninth of 
August, and soon ascertained the approach of a large body of 
Hessians under Col. Baum, whom Burgoyne had detached to 
collect, in Vermont, horses and cattle for the use of his army. 
Stark sent forward a party under Col. Gregg to skirmish with 
the enemy, and marched with his whole force the next morn- 
ing to support him. On his way, he met Gregg retreating 
before a superior force : but the enemy, as soon as they dis- 



1777.] period viii.— 1775— 1784. 137 

covered Stark's main body, halted and declined an engagement 
that day. The next day was rainy, and nothing important 
was done. On the day following, having received small 
reinforcements of Massachusetts and Vermont militia, making 
his whole force sixteen hundred, the American General at- 
tacked the Hessians, and after an obstinate conflict of two 
hours, forced their breastwork and compelled them to retreat 
with loss, leaving behind them two pieces of brass cannon. — 
Soon after his men had dispersed themselves in pursuit of 
plunder or fugitives, Capt. Bradford discovered the approach 
of a large reinforcement of Hessians under Col. Breyman, in- 
creased by the remnants of Baum's division which had escaped 
the scene of their defeat ; and he immediately communicated 
the fact to his Commander. Happily, Warner's Vermont 
Regiment arrived on the field from Manchester in season to 
check the enemy, till Stark rallied his men, renewed the 
battle, and again put the foe to flight. Two hundred and 
thirty Hessians lay dead on the field, and more than seven 
hundred were made prisoners ; among the latter was Col. 
Baum, their Commander, who was mortally wounded. A 
body of Indians who had attended his march, finding as they 
6aid "that the woods were full of Yankees," deserted him the 
day before the battle. This decisive victory, achieved by the 
bravery of the New-Hampshire militia, gave a turn to the 
affairs of the war, relieved the surrounding States from their 
gloomy apprehensions of being overrun by the enemy, and 
paved the way for the capture of Burgoyne's whole army. 

The principal officers who held subordinate commands in 
this important battle, were Colonels William Gregg of Lon- 
donderry, Moses Nichols of Amherst, and Thomas Stickney 
of Concord. In a letter from Jefferson to Stark, written many 
years afterwards, it was justly remarked that the victory of 
Bennington was "the first link in the chain of successes which 
led to the capitulation of Saratoga." It might have been ad- 
ded, that this capitulation was the first guarantee of the final at- 
tainment of American Independence. 

In the arrangement of officers the preceding year, Gen. 
Poor, a junior officer had been promoted over Stark, and his 
letters of remonstrance to Congress, not receiving due atten- 
tion, he retired in disgust from the service. He was now 
acting under the authority, not of Congress, but of the Legis- 
lature of New-Hampshire, and felt under no obligation to 
correspond with the former body. They heard of his victory, 
and expected despatches from him ; but waited in vain. In 
answer to the enquiry why he did not write them, he replied. 
M* 



138 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1777. 

that as his former letters hadbeen neglected,his correspondence 
with that body was at an end. His merit and brilliant success 
enforced the justice of his complaint, and he was appointed a 
Brigadier General in the army of the United States. 

Volunteers from all parts of New-England nocked to the 
army under Gen. Gates, which was opposed to that under 
Burgoyne. Gen. Whipple, with a strong reinforcement of 
New-Hampshire militia, repaired to the scene of action. The 
British General, transporting his provisions and artillery with 
extreme difficulty, and annoyed by the New-Hampshire and 
Vermont militia, hanging, according to his own repre- 
sentation, "like a black cloud on his left," opened his way 
to Stillwater, where the opposing armies came in contact. — 
After the fierce encounter of the 19th of September, in which 
Lieut. Colonels Adams of Durham and Colburn of New- 
Marlboro' were slain — and the no less bloody combat of the 
7th of October, which proved fatal to Col. Conner, a volunteer 
from Pembroke — the British General found it impossible 
either to advance or retreat. Every part of his camp was 
exposed to the American fire ; even into his own apartment, 
at a moment when he and his chief officers were engaged in 
consultation, a cannon ball is said to have entered, passing 
across the table around which they were sitting. On the 17th 
of October he surrendered his army of 7000 men prisoners 
of war, who were sent under the direction of several officers, 
of whom Gen. Whipple was one, to their destined quarters 
near Boston. This great event not only filled America with 
joy, but decided the French Court to acknowledge our inde- 
pendence, and aid us in the conflict. 

The love of liberty is one of the most powerful stimulants 
of human exertion. It was this which inspired the people of 
this State to make efforts, so powerfully contributing to over- 
whelm Burgoyne. By a little incident which happened to 
Gen. Whipple on his march to join the army, the efficacy of 
this principle was finely illustrated, He had an intelligent 
negro servant named Prince. On some occasion he said to 
him, "Should we be called into action, I hope you will behave 
like a man, and fight bravely for your country." Prince 
repiied, "Sir, I have no inducement to fight, but if Iliad my 
liberty I would endeavor to defend it to the last drop of my 
blood." Struck with the justness of the sentiment, the General 
sai& to him, "Prince, you shall have your freedom ; from this 
time you are your own man." 

On the surrender of the British army, the New-Hampshire 
regular troops marched forty miles in fourteen hours, and 



1778.] period viii.— 1775— 1784. 139 

forded the Mokawk near its mouth. Their object was to 
attack a British force from New- York, which had come up 
the Hudson to aid Burgoyne, and had been ravaging the coun- 
try below Albany. On learning the fact of his surrender, the 
enemy did not await an attack, but hastened down the river. 
The troops continued their march to Pennsylvania, and joining 
the army under Washington, took part in the battle of Ger- 
mantown, in which Maj. Sherburne, aid to Gen. Sullivan, was 
slain. 

Near the close of the year, Articles of confederation 
were agreed to by Congress, and were afterwards ratified by 
the States. These articles united them in a league of friendship 
and alliance, and served for more than eleven years as the 
the basis of a General Government. The commencement of 
1778 found American affairs in a gloomy state. As Congress 
did not possess the necessary powers to command the resour- 
ces of the country, the army was ill paid, ill fed, and ill clad. 
Many of the soldiers, in the depth of winter, were destitute of 
shoes and blankets ; many sickened and died. The bills cf 
credit,which constituted the chief currency of the States, had 
fallen to one fourth their nominal value. A depreciation so 
great could have no other than distressing results. Fraudulent 
debtors discharged their obligations with a currency, that gave 
the honest creditor but a small part of the just value of his 
claim ; the articles of living rose to an enormous price ; a door 
being opened wide to every kind of speculation, the simple 
and unsuspecting became the prey of the cunning. Laws 
were enacted, but in vain, against monoply and extortion. — 
Numerous Conventions were holden to regulate the prices of 
labor and provisions :— but modes of evading such regulations 
were easily found out. The paper currency continued to de- 
preciate till near the close of the war, when it had fallen so 
low that an hundred dollars in paper were worth but one in 
silver. As loans and supplies from Europe had introduced a 
metalic currency, the paper ceased to circulate ; but not till it 
had involved in absolute ruin many individuals, who, in ex- 
change perhaps for their farms, had been compelled to receive 
it, when almost worthless, at its nominal value. 

Several citizens of New-Hampshire engaged in the enter- 
prise of annoying the commerce of the enemy by privateering. 
Not content with scouring the Atlantic, they in some instances 
rounded the North Cape of Europe, and penetrated into the 
dreary expanse of the Arctic Ocean, in quest of British vessels. 
At least one American privateer visited a port in Lapland, and 



140 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1778. 

held some communication with the inhabitants of that remote 
and frozen region. 

Early this year, the daring and celebrated naval Commander, 
John Paul Jones, sailed from Portsmouth in the Ranger, a 
privateer of that port destined to act against the British com- 
merce. He landed both in England and Scotland, and plun- 
dered the house of the Earl of Selkirk. After landing his 
plunder in France, he again put to sea and sailed to the Irish 
coast. Having learned that the British ship of war Drake was 
then lying in Waterford harbor, he sent to her Captain a chal- 
lenge for a combat, which was accepted. The ships met and 
fought — after an action of an hour and a quarter, the Drake, 
having had an hundred and eighty of her men killed or woun- 
ded, struck her colors to the Ranger. The loss of the American 
vessel was only twenty. After this victory Jones left the 
Ranger for another ship, the Bonne Homme Richard, in which 
his exploits rendered him the terror of the British seas. 

In the early stages of the contest a number of individuals, 
attached to the royal cause, had left the State and cast them- 
selves on the protection of the British. The Legislature made 
out a list of seventy eight persons of this description, who 
were proscribed as enemies to their country. They were 
called refugees: the estates of many of them were confiscated, 
and they were forbidden to return. If they returned a second 
lime the penalty was death. 

The New-Hampshire Brigade under Gen. Poor, bore a 
conspicuous part in the battle of Monmouth, fought on the 
twenty-eighth of June, in which Colonels Cilley and Dearborn 
particularly distinguished themselves. So intense was the 
heat of the day, that almost an hundred men, including the 
victims in both armies, died of exposure to it — the tongues of 
some of them being so swollen as to protrude out of the mouth. 
In July, a powerful French fleet, destined to co-operate against 
the British, arrived on the coast. It was concluded, after due 
consultation, to make a combined attack by sea and land on 
the forces of the enemy stationed at Newport in Rhode-Island. 
The French were to execute the naval part of the enterprise ; 
the superintendence of the military part was committed to 
Gen Sullivan. He collected from this State, Massachusetts, 
and Connecticut a large body of troops, transported them to 
Rhode-Island, and encamped in the vicinity of Newport, with 
the design of attacking the place. The New-Hampshire militia 
was under the command of Gen. Whipple. On the approach 
of a British fleet, the French Admiral put to sea to attack it ; 
but while the parties were preparing for a decisive battle, a 



1778.] period viii.— 1775 — 1784. 141 

furious storm arose and shattered both fleets. Contrary to the 
earnest remonstrances of the Americans, the Frence deter- 
mined to sail to Boston to refit. Thus deserted by the fleet, the 
army was left in a critical situation, as the enemy could then 
at their pleasure pour into Newport reinforcements from New- 
York ; and Sullivan found it necessary to break up his camp 
on the 28th of August, and retreat to the north end of the 
Island. Early on the next morning the British pursued and 
attacked his troops ; but were compelled after a sharp conflict 
of half an hour to retire. He kept up a bold face through the 
rest of the day — and having deceived the enemy into a belief 
that he was preparing to attack them, he effected in the ensu- 
ing night his retreat across the narrow sheet of water, which 
divides the island from the main. This was done with great 
secrecy, and without loss. On the morning of the 30th, sev- 
eral American officers being at breakfast in the General's 
quarters, a party of British discovered from an eminence their 
horses standing, and the guard set round the door; and imme- 
diately pointed a cannon at the spot. The ball shattered the 
leg of John S. Sherburne, at that time aid decamp to Gen. 
Sullivan and afterwards a member of Congress and Judge of 
the United States' Court for the District of New-Hampshire, 
in such a manner that amputation became necessary. 

At this time the State was seriously agitated by a disposition 
in the w estern section of it to secede from New-Hampshire, 
and form a union with Vermont. Most of the settlers in that 
section were from Connecticut, and were more assimilated in 
their manners and feeling to the people of Vermont, than to 
those of the eastern parts of New-Hampshire. They wish- 
ed to form a State, whose centre and seat of government 
should be in their own vicinity, at some town on Connecti- 
cut river. Fifteen towns in the west part of the County of 
Grafton, together with Cornish in the present County of Sul- 
livan, applied to the Vermont Assembly for admission into 
that State, and were admitted by a small majority. A re- 
solve was passed for the admission of other towns on the 

past Sido of tlip vivoi«, which might raako a oimiliu uppliea- 

tion. The seceding towns justified their course on the follow- 
ing grounds : that the original grant of New-Hampshire was 
limited by a line drawn sixty miles from the sea ; that the 
lands west of this line were annexed to that Province merely 
by the royal authority; and that as this anthority ceased at the 
Declaration of Independence, the inhabitants of those lands 
had reverted "to a state of.nature," and might form such polit- 
ical connections as were most convenient. The towns of 



142 niSTORT OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1778. 

Vermont, west of the mountains, were adverse to the recep- 
tion of the towns east of the river ; while those on the east ot 
the mountains, forming a small majority of J:he whole State, 
were mostly in favor of it. To erect a State whose centre 
should fall in their own vicinity, was the grand ohject of the 
towns adjacent to the river, on hoth sides. They preferred to 
effect this object by uniting the western part of New-Hamp- 
shire and the eastern half of Vermont, into a distinct jurisdic- 
tion ; or if this were found impracticable, they were willing 
to dissolve the existing government of Vermont, and unite 
the whole State to New-Hampshire. Either of these arrange- 
ments would, as they supposed, lead to a location of the seat 
of government accordant with their wishes. The eastern and 
central parts of New-Hampshire and the western divisions of 
Vermont would of course strenuously oppose these plans. 

The sixteen towns informed the government of New-Hamp- 
shire of their secession, and requested an amicable correspon- 
dence. President Weare, whose prudence and sound practi- 
cal wisdom eminently fitted him to manage so critical an af- 
fair, immediately wrote to Gov. Chittenden of Vermont, as- 
serting the right of New-Hampshire to all the territory on the 
east side of the river ; and also solicited the interposition and 
advice of Congress. At the autumnal session of Vermont 
Assembly at Windsor, these towns requested to be organized 
into a distinct County. That Assembly had just learnt, that 
Congress were unanimously opposed so this encroachment on 
the territory of New-Hampshire, and a majority declined to 
grant the request. On this repulse the representatives of the 
seceding towns, with a considerable number from towns west 
of the river, withdrew from the Vermont Assembly, in dis- 
gust, and agreed to call a convention of delegates from the 
towns on both sides of the river, to meet at Cornish in De- 
cember. This body, when assembled, was in favor of form- 
ing the county adjacent to the river, including the whole re- 
gion between the Masonian line on the east and the Green 
Mountains on the West, into an independent State. They pro- 
posed lO NeW-IIampohiro oithoi to ngioc vjli a boundary lino, 

or submit the dispute to Congress, or to arbitrators mutually 
chosen. The plans of this Convention, however, proved abor- 
tive, and the sixteen towns, having been joined by several oth- 
ers in the County of Cheshire, resumed their connection with 
Vermont. 

This encroachment on New-Hampshire was unhappy for 
Vermont — diminishing, as it did,the attachment of her friends 
abroad, and producing dissenison among her citizens at home. 



1779.] period viii.— 1775— 1784. 143 

It aroused New-Hampshire^not only to unite with New- York 
in opposition to her admission into the Union, but to revive 
her claim of jurisdiction over the whole of her territory. To 
the seceding towns themselves it was a source of unhappiness. 
In each of them existed a minority, in some instances a large 
minority, opposed to the separation. Each party sought of 
course the protection of the government it preferred, and Jus- 
tices and Sheriffs appointed by the respective States, attempt- 
ed, at the same times, and in the same places, to exercise their 
conflicting jurisdictions over the same persons — a state of 
things that could not fail to engender confusion and animosity. 
As both New-Hampshire and New- York claimed the whole of 
their territory, the Vermo liters suspected, possibly not without 
reason, that a plan was on foot to divide it between their 
neighbors, making the Green Mountains the boundary line ; and 
they sought to defeat it by extending their own claim eastward 
into New-Hampshire, and westward into New- York, as far as 
to the Hudson. Congress made efforts to induce all the parties 
to submit the matter to their decision ; but Vermont declined 
to submit her claim of Independence to the arbitrament of 
any power whatever. The towns which had separated from 
New-Hampshire, did not return to their former connection for 
three or four years. 

As the temporary form of government, hastily drawn up in 
the first year of the war was found to be, almost of necessity, 
defective and inadequate, a Convention of Delegates from the 
several towns met in 1779, and having chosen Mr. Langdon to 
be their President, agreed on a Constitution, chiefly drawn up 
by Judge Livermore: — but the people rejected it, as being too 
imperfect. The military transactions of the year offer to our 
notice no enterprise of consequence, in which the troops of 
this State took part, except the expedition under Gen. Sulli- 
van into the Indian country. In this enterprise the New- 
Hampshire brigade took an important part. At that day, the 
western region of New-York, now smiling with cultivated 
fields and beautiful villages, was a vast wilderness occupied by 
the "Six Nations" of Indians. These savages, in connection 
with a band of tories, had ventured the preceding year to lay 
waste the flourishing settlement of Wyoming in Pennsylva- 
nia, and had slaughtered some hundreds of the inhabitants. 
It was determined to inflict on them a signal chastisement. 
Sullivan with 4000 men penetrated into their country, attack- 
ed their camp on Seneca Lake, and put them to flight. Having 
wasted their settlements, burnt their habitations, cut down 
their numerous apple and peach orchards, and destroyed the 



144 HISTORY Or NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1780. 

standing corn to the amount of 160,000 bushels, he returned 
in October with trifling loss. This dreadful, but merited in- 
fliction effectually prevented their future incursions. At the 
close of the year, the troops of this State went into winter 
quarters, and Gen. Sullivan retired from the service. 

Several causes concurred at this period to overspread the 
public mind with gloom. Much had been expected from 
the co-operation of the French : but little had been re- 
alized. The floods of paper money which had been emitted, 
together with the circulation of great quantities of counterfeit 
bills by British agents, with the design of destroying its cred- 
it, accelerated its depreciation with astonishing rapidity. It 
finally became impossible to purchase with this currency the 
necessaries of life. The army was distressed beyond mea- 
sure: "four months pay of a soldier would not buy his family 
a bushel of wheat, and the pay of a Colonel would not pur- 
chase oats for his horse." Nothing but the patriotism of the 
soldiers, and the almost unlimited influence of Washington, 
both directed by the favorable disposals of Divine Providence, 
could, under circumstances so distressing, have kept the army 
from dissolution. 

The nineteenth of May, 1780, was the memorable dark day. 
Over New-England and some adjacent tracts of New-York 
and Canada, such was the obscuration, that in many places 
people could not read or dine at mid-day without candles. It 
continued several hours, imparting to surrounding objects a 
tinge of yellow, and awakening in many a breast apprehensions 
of some impending calamity. All was wrapped in gloom — 
the birds became silent, domestic fowls retired to their roosts, 
and the cocks crowed as at break of day. The darkness of 
the following night was so intense, that many who were but a 
little way from home, on well known roads, could not without 
extreme difficulty retrace the way to their own dwellings. 

The Free Will Baptists date from this period their origin a3 
a distinct religious community. Elder Benjamin Randall, the 
founder of this denomination, collected at New-Durham in 
the County of Strafford, the first society of the name in this 
State. They have since increased to more than eighty church- 
es, including about 6000 communicants ; and are connected 
by the bonds of ecclesiastical fellowship with numerous kin- 
dred societies in Maine, Vermont, and New- York. 

Serious alarm was excited in the western part of New- 
Hampshire in October, by the irruption into the eastern part 
of Vermont, of a large body of Canadian Indians, led by Hor- 
ton, a British officer. With savage fury they plundered and 



1781.] period vjii.— 1775— 1784. 145 

burnt the town of Royalton, killing or captivating as many of 
the people as fell in their way. Doct. Parkhurst, a physician 
now living in Lebanon, then a lad, received a musket ball in 
his back which passed through his body, and lodged under 
the skin. He fled on horseback, assuaging the pain occasioned 
by the ball by supporting it with his fingers, and arrived at 
Lebanon, a distance of sixteen miles. A strong body of men 
from the country adjacent, under the command of Col. House 
of Hanover, overtook the Indians in Randolph and exchanged 
several fires ; but the enemy made good their retreat, not 
however without leaving behind a part of their ill-gotten 
plunder. 

The New-Hampshire brigade having served a part of the 
summer at West Point, and afterwards in New-Jersey, where 
their Commander, Gen. Poor, died, was reduced at the close 
of the year to two regiments, commanded by Colonels Scam- 
mel and Reid, and passed the winter in huts on the Hudson. 
Gen. Poor was a native of Andover, Ms. He had served with 
reputation from the beginning of the war, and was second in 
command in Sullivan's expedition into the Indian country. 
Even at this late period of the war, the troops in their winter 
quarters were not exempted from severe sufferings. A vivid 
picture of their distress is seen in the following extract of a let- 
ter written in December by Stark to President Weare: " My last 
gave you a hint that our troops were in a suffering condition 
for want of cash. None has yet been paid them by the public, 
nor can I learn that any is soon expected. You certainly know 
whether Congress have it in their power to supply them ; if 
they have, I cannot see the policy of detaining it from them; 
if they have not, it is necessary that the States should allow a 
pittance at least, sufficient to keep soul and body together. — 
What must be the feelings of officers who have obtained leave 
of absence to visit their families, without a shilling to pay 
their expenses on the road ? who, if they go, must assume the 
character of beggars ? Perseverance has lonir been their fa- 
vorite topic, and hope almost their only support ; but they have 
in a measure abandoned that. Despair stares them boldly in 
the face — flattery will no longer avail — an immediate remedy 
is their positive demand." 

Amid the din of arms the State was not unmindful of the 
interests of education. In April, 1781, was incorporated au 
Academy at Exeter, the oldest in the State, and probably the 
best endowed in the country. It received, from the munifi- 
cence of the Hon. John Phillips of Exeter, an ample fund, 
amounting at the present time to $80,0C0 ; and has maintained 
N 



146 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1781. 

a distinguished rank among our Academical Institutions. Mr. 
Phillips, who was a Counsellor under the Provincial govern- 
ment, and the Founder of the Professorship of Theology in 
Dartmouth College, belonged to a family eminent for its pat- 
ronage of literary and religious objects. He was a son of the 
Rev. Samuel Phillips of Andover. In connection with his 
brother, Samuel Phillips, he had previously founded and en- 
dowed an Academy at Andover, Ms.; and he afterwards added 
considerable sums for the education of pious and indigent 
young men, especially those designed for the Christian Min- 
istry. His gifts and bequests, augmented by others from va- 
rious branches of the same family, laid a foundation forjhe 
present Theological Seminary at Andover. He died in 1795, 
leaving a name which will command the respect of subsequent 
generations. 

Merely as a temporary expedient, to continue only during 
the war, did the people adopt the Plan of Government hastily 
prepared in 1776. As the war now seemed to be approaching 
to a termination, this Plan was about to expire by its own 
limitation. Great inconvenience had resulted from its defects, 
some of which were the following :— it had no Bill of Pughts, 
as preliminary to a delegation of powers ; it contained no rule 
of exclusion, but permitted an accumulation of offices by a 
single individual, incompatible with the general good ; and it 
provided no Executive Department distinct from the Legisla- 
tive body. This last " flaw," to borrow the language of that 
day, " was patched over with a Committee of Safety," to serve 
as an Executive during the recess of the Assembly — but the 
contrivance was found to be a clumsy one. A conviction of 
the necessity of forming a Constitution on principles more 
comprehensive and determinate, led to the assembling of a 
Convention for this purpose in June. It met at Concord, and 
was organized by choosing the Hon. George Atkinson of Ports- 
mouth, President ; and Jonathan M. Sewall of the same place, 
Secretary. Among the leading members were, in addition to 
the President and Secretary, Judge Pickering and Dr. Cutter 
of Portsmouth ; Generals Sullivan of Durham, Peabody of 
Atkinson, and Folsom of Exeter ; Judge Wingate of Stratham ; 
the Hon. Timothy Walker of Concord ; Ebenezer Webster 
of Salisbury, Joseph Badger, Sen. of Gilmanton, Ebenezer 
Smith of Meredith, Wyseman Claggett of Litchfield, Timothy 
Farrar of New-Ipswich, Francis Blood of Temple, and Dan- 
iel Newcomb of Keene. After a session of a few days, and 
the discussion and adoption of some general principles, the 
Convention adjourned to meet again in September, having ap- 



1781.] period vin.— 1775— 1784. 147 

pointed a Committee of seven to prepare the draught of a 
Constitution. The Committee consisted, in part, of Gen. 
Peabody, who was Chairman, Judge Pickering, J. M. Sewall, 
Judge Farrar, and the Rev. Mr. Goddard of Swanzey. They 
appointed a sub-committee, to consist of Messrs. Pickering 
and Sewall, the former to draught the Form of Government : 
the latter, the Bill of Rights. 

At the adjourned meeting in September, the Convention 
received the report of the Committee, and agreed on a Con- 
stitution, which, accompanied with an explanatory address 
from the Convention, was printed and sent out to the people, 
for their decision in town meetings. 

For the sake of giving a connected view of the doings of 
this important Convention, which subsisted more than two 
years, and had in the whole no less than nine sessions— a bo- 
dy, to whose patient labors the present generation is indebted 
for the substance of our excellent Constitution— it will be ne- 
cessary to anticipate dates. At their third session in January, 
1782, they received the returns from the several towns, and 
found the objections to the first draught so numerous and va- 
rious, as to render it necessary to prepare a second. The 
Journal of their proceedings is unhappily lost : it is however 
believed that the Constitution was recommitted to the former 
Committee, to be by them re-modeled, so as to obviate objec- 
tions. At a subsequent session Jn August, the Committee 
reported a second draught, which after discussion and amend- 
ment, was in like manner sent out to the people for their appro- 
val or rejection. At this session, the Secretary being absent, 
Gen. Sullivan officiated as Secretary pro tern. The Conven- 
tion adjourned to meet again in December. 

From the returns forwarded by the several towns to the 
Convention at the December session, it appeared that the se- 
cond draught was generally approved by the people. As some 
amendments were still found to be necessary, the Convention 
again adjc urned to meet in June, 1783. At this session, they 
adopted sundry alterations and amendments, and again for the 
third time sent out the Constitution to the people for their final 
decision. 

In resuming the narration of events in chronological order, 
we must return to the summer of 1781. A few families having 
planted themselves at Shelburne, and made a small opening in 
the wide wilderness on the north-east of the White Mountains, 
a party of Canadian Indians invaded the little settlement in Au- 
gust, and after plundering the houses, killing one of the inhab- 
itants and making another prisoner, retired unmolested into 



148 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1781. 

Canada. This was the last hostile incursion of savages into 
the now peaceful fields of New-Hampshire. Seen through 
the mists of time, their devastations seem to us like a dim and 
shadowy vision, to be looked at chiefly for the gratification of 
our curiosity : but to our Fathers it was far otherwise — the 
sound of the war whoop, and the sight of the uplifted toma- 
hawk, haunted their imaginations by day and their dreams by 
night. 

In October, the finishing stroke was given to the war by the 
capture of Lord Cornwallis and his whole army. In this 
great achievement, effected by the combined forces of America 
and France under General Washington, at Yorktown in Vir- 
ginia, one of the regiments of this State took part, and lost 
its gallant commander, Col. Scammell of Durham, one of the 
most accomplished officers of the army. In the operations of 
the seige he was surprised, while reconnoitering, by a party 
of hostile cavalry, and inhumanly and mortally wounded after 
he had been taken prisoner. The capture of a second Brit- 
ish army ensured the triumph of America, and filled the coun- 
try with an almost frantic joy. On the reception of the intel- 
ligence, Congress went to church in solemn procession to 
render public praise to Almighty God, and appointed a day 
for a National Thanksgiving. The state of public feeling on 
the occurrence of this great event, is indicated by the fact, that 
the aged door-keeper of Congress, on learning the surrender 
of the British army, expired in a Jit of joy. Every part of the 
country was animated by emotions similar in kind, though less 
violent in degree. 

In relation to the seceding towns of Grafton and Cheshire 
counties, the controversy with Vermont still continued, and 
at last threatened to involve the two States in open hostilities. 
The New-Hampshire Courts held their sessions in both coun- 
ties without much opposition : but from the attempts of Sher- 
iffs to enforce the laws of the respective governments, resulted 
many angry collissions. Two inhabitants of Chesterfield 
were committed to Charlestown goal by a warrant from 
a Vermont Justice. The government of New-Hampshire 
directed Col. Hale of Rindge, Sheriff of the county of 
Cheshire, to release the prisoners: — but in attempting to exe- 
cute the order, he was himself imprisoned by the Vermont 
Sheriff. On his application for a military force to release him, 
the Governor of Vermont ordered the militia of that State to 
oppose force to force ; and for a time, it was seriously appre- 
hended that the question of his liberation would be decided 
by the issue of a battle at Charlestown. While the parties thus 



1782.] period viii.— 1775— 1781. 149 

stood with the sword half drawn, a Committee from Vermont 
came into New-Hampshire to agree on a compromise. One 
of the number was the Vermont Sheriff, who was immedi- 
ately thrown into Exeter goal, and detained as an hostage for 
the release of of Col. ilale. The Legislature issued a Procla- 
mation, requiring the inhabitants of the revolted towns to 
subscribe within forty days an acknowledgment of the juris- 
diction of New-Hampshire, and ordered the militia to hold 
themselves in readiness to march against them, in case of 
their refusal. 

In this crisis the influence of Washington was interposed 
to prevent bloodshed. A letter from him to Gov. Chittenden, 
earnestly advising Vermont to renounce her claim of jurisdic- 
tion east of Connecticut river, was laid before the Assembly 
of that State. This advice, coming from the source it did, 
prevailed with a majority of the Assembly to accept, in Febru- 
ary, 1782, the west bank of the Connecticut as their boundary 
— an act which ended the controversy happily for both States. 

Though at first it threatene I tragic consequences, yet the 
imprisonment of the Sheriff of Cheshire had a ludicrous con- 
clusion. After he had been for some time in durance, the 
authorities of Vermont became desirous to be rid of the dif- 
ficulty in which the affair had involved them, and gave orders 
for his dismission. Expecting as he did to be released in a 
more honorable manner, than to be thus unceremoniously 
thrust out of prison, he refused to depart. Soon afterwards, a 
party of women, having entered the prison in the evening and 
compelled him to accompany them, placed him in a vehicle 
in which they conveyed him to Claremont, where they left 
him to take care of himself. It was more than suspected that 
some of these women were men in female attire. 

The seceding towns expressed warm resentments at being 
cut off from their connection with Vermont, and for a 
time were not disposed to return to New-Hampshire. Disaf- 
fected individuals obstructed the sitting of the Inferior Court 
at Keene in September, so as to render an adjournment ne- 
cessary: they soon after attempted to prevent the sitting of 
the Superior Court at the same place, but without success. — 
A bill of indictment was found against the insurgents, who 
cast themselves on the mercy of the Court, and promised sub- 
mission to the government in future; on which the proceed- 
ings against them were discontinued; and the jurisdiction of 
New-Hampshire was quietly re-extended to the western bank 
of the Connecticut. 

The people called " Shakers," first appeared in the State at 
N* 



150 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE [1782. 

this period, and collected Societies at Enfield and Canterbury, 
in each of which places they possess a neat Village, and an 
extensive and finely cultivated estate. 

In November, provisional articles of peace between 
Great Britain and the United States were signed at Paris, 
by which the independence of the States was acknowl- 
edged by the Mother Country. By this treaty, the object of 
America was fully attained, and the protracted sacrifices of a 
seven years struggle amply repaid. In the course of the 
war, New-Hampshire had furnished for the service not less 
than ten thousand men, of whom she lost four thousand in 
battle and by sickness. The troops of no State gained a 
higher reputation for gallantry and enterprise ; no State, in 
proportion to her means, contributed more powerfully to the 
establishment of American Independence. 

The American revolution is one of the great events in the 
history of the world. It not only gave a new impulse to the 
American character, but opened new fields for enterprise, and 
supplied a powerful stimulus to exertion. It brought upon 
the theatre of human affairs an host of new actors, who shewed 
themselves competent to perform great and important parts. 
On the political state of the world, it has already exerted a 
vast influence. That some unhappy effects have resulted from 
the great contest is not to be denied. Dr. Ramsay truly re- 
marks that while "the literary, political, and military talents of 
the United States have been improved by the Revolution, their 
moral character is inferior to what it once was." The straight- 
forward, sterling honesty of former times, gave way,to no small 
extent, to looser principles of dealing and arts of speculation. 
In the confusion of the struggle, the institutions of religion 
were much neglected, and public worship was in many places 
long suspended. The depreciation of the paper currency 
reduced the salaries of many ministers to almost nothing. — 
That reverence for the Sabbath, once so deep and general, as 
to render the stillness of a New-England Sabbath proverbial, 
was sensibly weakened by the habits of travelling and business, 
induced by the war. The familiar intercourse of our military 
men with French officers, most of whom were infidels from 
the school of Voltaire, spread among us to an alarming extent 
the taint of infidelity — thousands became deeply and fatally 
corrupted. Had not the Ruler of the world counteracted the 
influence of these evils, at a subsequent period, by numerous 
revivals of religion in almost every part of the country, the re- 
sult must have been disastrous. But such has been^the kindness 
of his dispensations, that the preponderating influence of this 



1783.] period viii.— 1775— 1784. 151 

great Revolution has been decidedly on the side of human 
happiness and pure Christianity. 

Of the distinguished officers in the revolutionary war, New- 
Hampshire had her full proportion. She furnished lor the 
regular service three Generals, Sullivan, Poor, and Stark ; and 
the Colonels Reid, Scammel, Cilley, and Dearborn. Col. 
Scammel, at the time he was slain, was Adjutant General of the 
American army. Gen. Whipple, who rose from the humble 
station of a cabin boy to high distinction, was frequently called 
into the service with detachments from the militia, and idled 
several important civil offices — among others, that of Judge of 
the Superior Court. Among those who were distinguished 
patriots of the revolution, and had influence in the public 
councils of the State, are, in addition to the names of President 
Weare and John Langdon, those of John Pickering and 
Woodbury Langdon of Portsmouth ; Nathaniel Peabody of 
Atkinson ; Nicholas Oilman, John T. Gilman, and Nathaniel 
Folsom of Exeter ; George Trust and Ebenezer Thompson of 
Durham; John Dudley of Raymond ; Samuel Livermore of 
Holderness ; Josiah Bartlett of Kingston ; Timothy Walker of 
Concord ; John McClary of Epsom ; Matthew Thornton of 
Merrimac; Jonathan Blan chard of Dunstable; Wyseman 
Claggett of Litchfield ; Matthew Patten of Bedford ; and Ben- 
jamin Bellows of Walpole. Of these men, some were delegates 
to the old Congress ; others held seats in the Council or the 
Committee of Safety, or were leading members of the House 
of Representatives ; others were active in the Convention 
which formed the present Constitution of the State ; and all 
were efficient supporters of the cause of their country. The 
hand of death has since removed from the world every indi- 
vidual of this band of patriots. 

The Rev. David McGregor, a Presbyterian minister in Lon- 
donderry, long eminent for piety, eloquence and usefulness, 
died in the course of the Revolutionary war, after having 
exerted an important influence in preparing the minds of the 
people to engage in the perilous contest. Another individual 
of that day, deserving to be ranked among the worthies of the 
State, was the Rev. Timothy Walker, the first minister of 
Concord, who possessed in an eminent degree the veneration 
of his people, and died near the close of the war after a minis- 
try of half a century. 

News of peace with Great Britain being received prior to 
the March meeting of 1783, the temporary "Plan of Govern- 
ment" expired by its own limitation. By the votes of the people, 
it was revived and continued in force for another year, under 



152 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1784. 

the expectation that within that period the new Constitution 
would be perfected. To the pens or* Messrs Pickering and 
Sewall, the State is indebted for many of its most important 
articles. The Convention which formed it, met for the ninth 
and last time in October ; Mr. Atkinson, the President, being 
absent on account of ill health, Gen. Folsom of Exeter was 
chosen President pro tern. The Constitution, which had been 
sent out to the people, was returned from the several towns, 
stamped with the approval of a great majority, and was accor- 
dingly established by the Convention, to take effect on the 
first Wednesday of June, 1784. It went into operation at that 
time, being introduced at Concord by a religious service called 
the Election Sermon, an observance which was continued in 
New-Hampshire for almost half a century, and not laid aside 
till ] 833. That long-tried and faithful public servant, Meshecli 
Weare, was again elected President, the title then used to 
designate the Chief Magistrate. The Constitution has been 
in general faithfully observed, and has contributed in an emi- 
nent degree to advance the social and political happiness of 
the State. 

Having now traced the course of events in New-Hampshire 
down to the last important change in the form of government, 
we may pause, and look back on the forms that had obtained 
in periods preceding. From the origin of the State in 1(3*23, 
through a period of sixteen years, the few Colonists on the 
Pascataqua were governed by the Rules and Orders of The 
Compaxy of Lacoxia in England, of which Mason was the 
leading member. For the brief space of the two following 
years, each of the few towns, having formed itself by volun- 
tary association into a little Republic, managed its own con- 
cerns in its own way. During the thirty eight years, begin- 
ning with 1641, the government was Coloxial, being 
administered by the authorities, and under the laws of 
Massachusetts. The Provincial or Royal Government 
began in 1680, and continued, with the exception of the short 
re-union with Massachusetts from 1690 to 1692, through a 
period of ninety six years. Early in 1776, this form was su- 
perseded by the Republican, which was introduced by the 
formation of the temporary Plan of Government, to continue 
during the war ; and was matured and made permanent by 
the introduction of the present Constitution in 1784, 



P ERIOD I X. 



FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PRESENT CONSTITUTION 
OF THE STATE IN 1764, TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF GOV. 
LANGDON'S ADMINISTRATION IN 1805. 

Changes in the form of government in the States of the 
Eastern Continent, have generally been the result either of 
foreign interference; or of internal convulsions. In New- 
Hampshire, the introduction of a new Constitution was the 
voluntary measure of the people, peaceably and harmoniously 
effected. The first Legislature under the new order of things, 
met at Concord, on which occasion the Rev. Dr. McClintock 
preached the Election sermon. They found a variety of im- 
portant objects of attention, and their enactments were marked 
with wisdom. President Weare, enfeebled by age and worn 
out with public service, found himself compelled to resign the 
Chair before the expiration of the year, having been President 
of the State nine years. Without brilliancy of genius, he was 
eminent for practical wisdom, accurate knowledge of the af- . 
fairs of the State, and industrious application to his public 
duties. In the discharge of the duties of morality and religion, 
he was exemplary, and retained to the last the confidence of 
the people. His resignation was soon followed by his death. 

Late in the summer a party of gentlemen, of whom one was 
the Rev. Dr. Cutler, ascended the White Mountains for the 
purpose of scientific observation. From observations then 
made, the height of Mount Washington, whose summit re- 
ceives the earliest rays of morning, and around which linger 
the last beams of parting day, was estimated at 10,000 feet; — 
an estimate supposed by Belknap to be too low. Subsequent 
and more accurate measurements, made by Capt. Partridge, 
and by Messrs. Bracket and Weeks, have very materially re- 
duced this estimate, and assigned to the mountain an altitude 
of about (3G00 feet— less than a third of the height of Chim- 
borazo, and only a fourth of that of Dhawalageri. As the 



1785.] HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. 154 

party of Dr. Cutler was descending the precipitous face of the 
mountain, their guide slipped and was gone out of their sight ; 
but their apprehensions for his safety were soon removed by 
his re-appearance, without serious injury. 

In the course of the year the Rev. Dr.' Belknap, Minister of 
Dover, published the first Volume of his History of New- 
Hampshire. The second and third Volumes did not issue 
from the press till some years afterwards. His work evinces 
great research, and a scrupulous adherence to truth ; and is the 
repository of a multitude of important facts, many of which, 
had they not been recorded by his pen, had been irretriev- 
ably lost. It was received by the public with great approba- 
tion, and the name of Belknap, as the principal historian of 
the State, has been held in respectful remembrance. The 
last years of his ministry and life he spent in Boston, as the 
Pastor of a church in that city. He published also the first 
Volume of American Biography, a work of much merit ; and 
prepared a second, which issued from the press after his death. 
A third edition of his History was published in 1831, enriched 
with valuable Notes from the pen of John Farmer, Esq. Cor- 
responding Secretary of the New-Hampshire Historical So- 
ciety. 

After a little rest from the labors of the war, the thoughts of 
some public spirited men began to be turned towards internal 
improvements. A bridge was erected in 1785 over Connecticut 
river, at Bellows' Falls in Walpole, by Col. Enoch Hale. — 
Erections of this kind over so deep and wide a stream, suf- 
ficiently strong to withstand the power of freshets and the 
descending masses of ice, had been considered, hoAvever desi- 
rable, as utterly impracticable. When Col. Hale announced 
his design, it was ridiculed as visionary ; but he persevered 
with firmness, and at an expense of less than 3000 dollars, 
completed a bridge which stood several years. His work was 
far more useful to the public than profitable to himself ; as 
embarrassments compelled him to sell his property, without 
having reaped from it that benefit, which a generous mind 
would award to enterprise and ingenuity so beneficial to oth- 
ers. This effort has been followed by the erection of numerous 
bridges, some of them expensive and elegant, over all the 
large rivers of the State. 

Between Gen. Sullivan and Mr. Langdon subsisted a sort 
of rivalry, not strictly political, but rather personal. Each of 
these distinguished men had a numerous circle of friends, who 
gave him a decided preference for the Chief Magistracy ; there 
was of course, after the resignation of the venerable President 



178G.] period ix.— 1784— 1805. J 55 

Weare,«i division at the Elections, "which resulted sometimes 
in favor of one and sometimes of the other of these candi- 
dates. Mr. Langdon, whose religious principles made him to 
a part of the community the more acceptable of the two, was 
chosen President of the State this year. Though the revolu- 
tion had rescued us from foreign oppression, the return of peace 
found the United States destitute of an efficient General Gov- 
ernment ; burdened with a debt of more than forty millions ; 
possessed of only a small quantity of the precious metals ; and 
enfeebled by the excessive exertions which had been deman- 
ded by the war. Congress found it necessary to raise large 
supplies of money to satisfy the public creditors; but as they 
wanted the power to enforce their requisitions, some of the 
States did almost nothing, while others made every effort to 
comply. An excessive importation of foreign goods drained 
the country of specie, and it became almost impossible to 
procure the means of paying either public taxes or private 
debts. Conventions of Delegates were holden for the purpose 
of deliberating on the means of relief; multitudes became 
clamorous for an emission by the Legislature, ot paper money, 
to be loaned to individuals on the security of real estate. By 
the wiser part of the community it was argued, and well 
argued, that there was already in circulation a vast amount of 
depreciated paper; and that a new emission would inevitably 
become depreciated, and aggravate an evil, which only indus- 
try, frugality, and patience could cure. To the taste of the 
looser and less discerning portion of the community, who 
wanted to get money by a quicker process than that of hard 
labor, these remedies were not congenial — they were too slow 
of operation. To relieve as far as possible the difficulty, the 
Legislature passed a "Tender Act," providing that when any 
debtor should tender to his creditor, in satisfaction of an exe- 
cution for debt, a sufficient amount of property either real or 
personal, the creditor should receive it at the appraisal of men, 
or suspend the levying of his Execution. This act gave debtors 
a breathing time ; but as it could not make money plenty, com- 
plaints continued to be made. 

Gen. Sullivan was elected to the Chair in 178G. Distress 
and discontent, occasioned by heavy taxes and extreme scar- 
city of money, rapidly increased; and in Massachusetts broke 
out into an open and dangerous insurrection headed by Daniel 
Shays, which was not quelled without the intervention of a 
large military force, and the loss of a few lives. New-Hamp- 
shire was not entirely exempt from civil commotion. During 
the session of the Legislature in September, a body of two 



156 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1787. 

hundred armed men, some from Cheshire, but most of them 
from the western part of Rockingham County, marched to 
Exeter, surrounded the house in which the Legislature was 
sitting, and with menaces required a compliance with their 
demands. These were sufficiently wild and extravagant, 
including not only an emission of paper money, but a release 
of debts, and an equal distribution of property. President Sul- 
livan, in a calm address, represented to them the folly and 
danger of their conduct ; but they were not to be reasoned with, 
and held the Legislature prisoners till evening. In attempting 
to pass out of the house, the President was stopped by the 
mob and treated even with rudeness. At twilight the citizens 
of Exeter, incensed at their audacity, made some demonstra- 
tions of attacking them ; on which they retreated to an emi- 
nence a mile distant, and encamped for the night. Their retreat 
liberated the Legislature, who declared them to be in rebellion, 
and authorized the President to call in the militia to suppress 
the insurrection. At the dawning of the next morning Gen. 
Sullivan appeared in the street, mounted, and in full uniform ; 
a body of militia from the neighboring towns soon poured into 
the place, whom he formed in martial array, and led to attack 
the insurgents. On arriving near their encampment, Gen. 
Cilley with a troop of horse made a rapid charge upon them ; 
they were instantly broken, and fled without firing a gun. — 
The leaders, of whom several were seized on the spot, were 
pardoned on promises of submission and good behaviour. 
Some of them, being members of Churcbes,were required by 
those Churches to make public confession of their guilt in 
rebelling against government. Thus happily was the insur- 
rection put down without the shedding of a drop of blood. — 
The ostensible leader of the insurgents was a man from 
Kingston ; the prime movers however, of whom one or two 
were members of the Legislature,took good care for their own 
safety by keeping themselves behind the curtain. 

Early in 1/87, the long vexed and engrossing question of a 
new issue of paper money was submitted to the people in 
town meetings, and the majority had the good sense and integ- 
rity to vote against the measure. After this decision, the 
dissatisfaction and clamor gradually subsided ; though the 
pecuniary embarrassments of the country continued to exist 
for a time longer. The public securities, or certificates of 
debts due from government to individuals, were excessively 
depreciated; many revolutionarry officers and soldiers,driven 
by pinching want to sell them, sacrificed a large proportion of 



1787.] period ix.— 1784— 1805. i5? 

their nominal value. They went into the hands of speculators, 
who afterwards realized every cent of their claims. 

It had been a question long agitated, what were the western 
limits of the Masonian patent? The Masonian proprietors 
had always contended for a curve line, to correspond with the 
direction of the sea-coast ; and according to a survey made for 
them by Fletcher in 1768, this line began near the southwestern 
corner of Fitzwilliam, and passed along on the western lines 
of Fitzwilliam, Marlborough, Stoddard and Washington, to 
Sunapee Lake ; thence on the lines of New-London, Wihnot, 
through Orange and Hebron to Plymouth ; and thence through 
Holderness, Sandwich and Burton, to Conway, on the borders 
of Maine. After the Revolutionary war, the grantees of some 
lands with which this line interfered, petitioned the Legislature 
to decide the question: the Masonian proprietors at the same 
time bringing in a petition on their part, that the line run by 
Fletcher might be established. It was finally determined by 
the Legislature, that a survey should be made of a distance of 
sixty miles from the sea on the south and east lines of the 
State, and that from the end of one of these lines of sixty 
miles to the end of the other, a straight line should be run, 
which should be established as the head line or western limit 
of the patent. This was run in 1787 ; the line extended from 
a point in the town of Rindge to a point on the boundary of 
Maine, a few miles north of Saco river. Between the straight 
and the curve line was a considerable territory, for the un- 
grantcd portions of which the Masonian proprietors were 
required to pay the State a considerable sum. During these 
transactions, the heirs of Allen revived their claim, after it had 
lain dormant about seventy years ; but afterwards comprom- 
ised their dispute with the Masonian proprietors; — and those 
harrassing controversies about land-titles, which at times had 
agitated the State for a period of an hundred and thirty years, 
were happily put to rest. The principal Agent in effecting the 
adjustment between the Masonian proprietors and the heirs of 
Allen, and also between the Masonian proprietors and the 
State, was John Pierce Esq. of Portsmouth. 

So apparent were the defects of the old Confederation of 
the States, and so urgent the necessity of establishing a more 
energetic General Government, competent to regulate com- 
merce and raise a revenue by imposts, that on the recommen- 
dation of Virginia, twelve of the States elected Delegates to 
meet in Convention and form a new Federal Constitution. — 
John Langdon and Nicolas Gilman were the delegates from 
this State". The Convention, consisting of the venerable 
O 



158 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1788. 

Statesmen and patriots of the Revolution, met at Philadelphia 
in May, and elected Washington as their President. After a 
long and laborious session, having to reconcile many conflicting 
interests, and to balance the concessions of the different sec- 
tions of the country, they formed the present Constitution of 
the United States. It was to be submitted to Conventions, to 
be called in the several States to decide on its adoption or 
rejection ; and if ratified by nine States, it was to go into op- 
eration. So nearly were its advocates and opponents balanced, 
that for some time its fate hung in suspense. The States 
which ratified it proposed many amendments, some of which 
were adopted ; and the majority in its favor was in some 
instances extremely small. 

The Convention elected in New-Hampshire to decide the 
great question of ratifying or rejecting the Federal Constitu- 
tion, met at Exeter in February, 1788. They appointed Gen. 
Sullivan to be their President, and the Hon. John Calfe, Sec- 
retary. This respectable body included most of the eminent 
men of the State — in the list of its members are found the 
names of Langdon, Pickering, Bartlett, John T. Gilman, 
Atherton, Parker, Bellows, West, Livermore, and Badger. — 
The debates ran high ; Sullivan, Langdon, Pickering, and 
Livermore, were the principal speakers in favor of the ratifi- 
cation ; while the leading opponents were Atherton of 
Amherst and Parker of Jaffrey. So dubious was the result, 
that the friends of the Constitution, afraid to risk a decision at 
that time, plead for an adjournment, in the hope that further 
discussion among the people would work a favorable change 
in public opinion. Happily for the community the motion 
prevailed ; had the question on the ratification been taken at 
the first session of the Convention, it had inevitably been lost. 
During the recess, the Constitution continued to be the stand- 
ing topic of earnest discussion in town and neighborhood 
meetings ; many changes were wrought in its favor ; some 
towns who had instructed their Delegates to oppose the ratifi- 
cation, recalled those instructions, and gave others of an 
opposite character. In the mean time the Conventions of 
eight States had declared their ratification. The adjourned 
meeting of the New-Hampshire Convention, holden at Con- 
cord in June, continued only four days. Many amendments 
were proposed and accepted ; the adoption of which by the 
other States, the opponents wished to make an indispensable 
condition of the validity of the ratification on the part of this 
State : but the advocates of the Constitution urged an uncon- 
ditional ratification, accompanied with a mere recommendation 



1788.] period ix.— 1784— 1805. 159 

of 'these amendments. Fearing that the decision might be 
against them, the opponents in their turn urged, but ineffectu- 
ally, another adjournment. On the last day of the session, 
the momentous question was taken. "While the Secretary 
was calling over the names of the members and recording their 
votes, there was a death-like silence — every bosom throbbed 
with anxious expectation." The result was 57 votes for the 
ratification, and 4(j against it, giving a majority of eleven in 
its favor. 

X As an index of the state of popular feeling existing at the 
time, it will be not uninteresting to state, that during the ses- 
sion the village of Concord was thronged with visitants, and 
the galleries of the Church in which the Convention met, 
crowded with spectators — listening to the debates, and await- 
ing with the deepest anxiety the final decision. Emissaries 
from other States attended, for the purpose of observing the 
course of events, and of influencing, if possible, the result. — 
Immense speculations had been made in Continental Certifi- 
cates, by purehases from the original holders, the officers and 
soldiers of the revolutionary army ; and the purchasers, a 
numerous and powerful body, were well aware that their 
fortunes depended on the ratification or rejection of the Con- 
stitution. Another body of men, still more numerous, felt the 
deepest anxiety for its fate, from no other motives than honest 
convictions of expediency, and patriotic zeal for the public 
good. Such indeed was the excitement of the popular mind, 
that on the declaration of the vote, messengers flew in all 
directions. Intelligence was immediately sent by an express 
to New-York, whose Convention was then in session, and 
where the result was extremely doubtful. The reception of 
it had an important influence on the decision of that State. 

The ratification by New-Hampshire, being that of a ninth 
State, and completing, as it did, the number necessary to put 
the Constitution in operation, excited throughout the country 
a thrill of joy. At Portsmouth, the event was celebrated by a 
grand procession, and other demonstrations of popular gratifi- 
cation. In the solemn Act of Ratification the Convention 
say, "Acknowledging with grateful hearts the goodness of the 
Supreme Ruler of the Universe, in affording to the people of 
the United States an opportunity in the course of his Provi- 
dence, deliberately and peaceably, without fraud or surprise, 
of entering into an explicit and solemn compact with each 
other, We do ix the name and behalf of the people op 
the State of New-Hampshire, assent to and ratify the 
said Constitution," Two other States soon added their 



160 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1789. 

ratifications. Rhode-Island and North Carolina for some time 
withheld their's ; but at last they followed the example of the 
other States, thus completing the Union of members of the 
American family. It is honorable to the patriotism of the ori- 
ginal opponents of the Federal Constitution, that after the 
final question was taken, many of them came forward with 
the declaration, that though it was not what they wished, yet 
as the majority had decided in its favor, they were determined 
to give it their cordial support. J 

Gen. Sullivan was succeeded in the Presidency of the State 
in 1788 by Mr. Langdon. In the course of the year, persons 
were elected to represent New-Hampshire in the first Con- 
gress under the new Federal Constitution. John Langdon 
and Paine Wingate were chosen Senators by the Legislature ; 
Samuel Livermore, Abiel Foster, and Nicolas Oilman were 
elected Representatives by the people. Geo. Washington was 
chosen President of the United States by the unanimous vote 
of the Electoral Colleges, and the first Congress met in the 
city of New- York on the 4th of March, 1789. The adminis- 
tration of Washington soon effected a revival of public credit, 
a rapid extension of commerce, the provision of a competent 
revenue, aud the rapid advance of the nation in whatever ex- 
alts or adorns society. Under the returning tide of national 
prosperity, the angry controversies that had grown out of the 
discussion of the Constitution, were quietly submerged. Mr. 
Langdon having been called to a seat in the national councils, 
Gen. Sullivan was again elected President of the State in 
1789. . In this last year of his administration, he had the pleas- 
ure of welcoming Gen. Washington, who came to the New- 
England States on a tour of observation, and extended his 
journey to Portsmouth. Both the government and the citizens 
of New-Hampshire received him in the most affecti mate 
manner, and omitted no demonstrations of their veneration 
for the Father of his country. To his former associates in 
arms, who were enthusiastically attached to him, an interview 
with their old Commander was in the highest degree grateful. 

The attention of public-spirited individuals began to be 
drawn at this period to the importance of improving the navi- 
gation of the Merrimac and Connecticut rivers. In the course 
of a few succeeding years, the excavation of the Middlesex 
canal, connecting the waters of the Merrimac with those of 
Boston harbor, was commenced ; and several short canals, 
furnishing a passage for boats around the principal falls of the 
two rivers, were undertaken and prosecuted with spirit. Of 
the citizens of New-Hampshire who were the efficient pro- 



1709.] period ix.— 1784— 1805. 161 

moters of these useful improvements, the names of Samuel 
Blodget of Manchester and William Page of Charlestown must 
be placed at the head of the catalogue. 

President Sullivan having been appointed Judge of the 
United States' District Court, the voice of the people at the 
election of 1790 called to the Chair Josiah Bartlett of Kings- 
ton, who retained the Chief Magistracy almost four years. At 
his first election his competitor was Mr. Pickering, whom he 
soon afterwards appointed Chief justice of the Superior 
Court — an office for which he possessed superior qualifications. 
The census of this year gave the Uuited States a population of 
almost four millions, of whom 142,000 were in New-Hamp- 
shire: a result exhibiting an increase, notwithstanding the 
heavy losses occasioned by the revolutionary war, of almost 
60,000 in the preceding fifteen years ; and indicating a great 
extension of new settlements. Already had the spreading 
tide of population reached the wild recesses of the White 
mountains. At a considerable distance from any other human 
habitation, Rosebrook had planted himself in the forest near 
the Notch, where he braved the perils of the wilderness., and 
brought under cultivation a large farm. 

No small share of suffering fell to the lot of these pioneers 
of cultivation and improvement. Instances were not wanting 
of their children being lost in the woods, and never found; or 
being torn by wild beasts. A case of the former kind occur- 
red in Temple, and no certain discovery of the fate of the 
lost child was ever made. An instance of the latter kind had 
recently taken place in Moultonborough ; and another, long 
before, at a plantation on Suncook river, the circumstances of 
which were deeply affecting. A man being at work in a 
meadow, his son, a" little boy eight years old, was sent to call 
him to dinner. While the father returned home by one path, 
the son took another. He did not arrive ; after waiting awhile, 
the father went to find him, aud had not gone far till he saw 
with horror a bear start up among the bushes, with the bleed- 
ing corpse of the bov between his teeth ! "One who has exten- 
sively seen," says Dr. D wight, "the efforts of the New-England 
people in colonizing new countries, cannot fail of being forcibly 
struck by their enterprise, industry, and perseverance. I have 
passed the dwellings of several hundred thousands of these 
people, erected on grounds which in 1760 were an absolute 
wilderness. A large part of these tracts they have converted 
into fruitful fields, surrounded it with enclosures, planted it 
with orchards, and beautified it with comfortable, and in many 
places, handsome houses. Considerable tracts I have traced 
O* 



162 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1790. 

through their whole progress from a desert to a garden. — 
Towns and villages rise up in the retreats of bears and wolves ; 
and Churches assemble for the worship of God the numerous 
inhabitants. Schools and Colleges enlighten the young mind 
with the rudiments, and in many instances with the higher 
attainments of knowledge. Man sees his race multiplying 
beyond all customary calculation, in the midst of blessings 
obtained without fraud, without oppression and without 
blood." 

In the general prosperity of the country at this period, 
New-England largely participated. Her ships visited almost 
every clime, her adventurous mariners began to pursue the 
whales into the most distant parts of the great Pacific, and not 
a few of her sons circumnavigated the globe. 

The encouragement and regulation of schools engaged the 
attention of the Legislature. From the early periods of their 
history, the people of New-Hampshire had taken a deep in- 
terest ~in the subject of education. A law was passed as ear- 
ly as 1693, requiring each town, with the exception of Dover, 
during the war then raging, to provide a school-master ; an- 
other in 1719 required each town of fifty or more house- 
holders, to be constantly provided with a school-master, to 
teach reading and writing ; and towns of 100 house-holders, 
to support a grammar school, to be kept by " some discreet 
person of good conversation, well instructed in the tongues." 
These laws accomplished much good ; but imperious necessi- 
ty sometimes rendered them inoperative. Of the new towns, 
many contained less than fifty house holders, and others of 
greater population were often led by the distresses of war to 
petition for exemption from the obligation to support a school. 
Within the memory of some aged persons now liviug, many 
children received all their instruction at home — learning to 
write in some instances on birch bark. The New-England 
Primer, the Psalter, and the Testament were the only school 
books ; there was no book on Arithmetic ; the teachers, to 
borrow the current phrase, " set sums " and explained the 
rules as they could. Dilworth's Spelling Book was not in- 
troduced till about the year 1770. In some towns professed 
teachers were not attainable, or the people w r ere unable to pay 
them, and the schools were taught after a fashion by the heads 
of families in rotation. Soon after the revolutionary war, 
English Grammar began to be introduced into the primary 
schools, and at a later period, Geography. In the last year of 
President Sullivan's administration, the former laws in relation 
to the subject were repealed^ and a new act was passed, au- 



1791.] period ix.— 1784— 1605. 163 

thoriziug the Selectmen of the several towns to assess the in- 
habitants, at the rate of five pounds for every twenty shillings 
paid by them on their proportion of a State tax of £1000. — 
Another law, enacted in 1791, required an assessment of sev- 
en pounds ten shillings on every twenty shillings of the pro- 
portion. A subsequent law fixed the assessment at ninety 
dollars on every dollar of the proportion paid by a town to- 
wards a State tax of £1000 — the result being an annual income 
of s90,000 for the whole State, applicable to the support of 
common schools. 

For the purposes of diffusing medical knowledge, and of 
suppressing quackery, by preventing unqualified persons from 
practising Medicine and Surgery, the New-Hampshire Medi- 
cal Society was incorporated in 1791. Its members are of 
three grades: Honorary Members, Fellows and Associates. — 
The general society consists of the two former grades, while 
the Associates belong to the District Societies, of which there 
are six. A person must have been a practicioner of medicine 
two years before he can be elected an Associate, and every 
Associate is eligible to the grade of a Fellow. Gov. Bartlett, 
who was a Physician, was the first President of the Society. 
It has had a salutary influence in raising the standard of med- 
ical qualfications, and elevating the profession to its present 
respectable state. Another indication of the progress of 
knowledge is found in the feet, that the condition of Dart- 
mouth College was now become flourishing. For a series of 
years, the difficulties attendent on the revolutionary war had 
checked its prosperity ; some of its students, impelled by pa- 
triotic feelings, had exchanged the shade of academic bowers 
for the tented field ; and others, who would gladly have be- 
come students, had been discouraged by the distressed and 
impoverished state of the country. After the Avar, the visit 
of President Wheelock to Europe — the erection of a new and 
elegant college edifice — the benefactions of enlightened indi- 
viduals — and the patronage of the Government, all conspired 
to give the College an impulse, which placed it among the most 
respectable literary Institutions of New-England. 

The extension at this time of commercial business required 
the establishment of a bank, and led to the incorporation of 
the New-Hampshire Bank at Portsmouth, the first in the State. 
Other banking Institutions have since been formed, at various 
periods, in all the counties. 

After the expiration of seven years from the adoption of 
the State Constitution, a Convention of Delegates met in Au- 
tumn for the purpose of revising it. They elected the Hon. 



164 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1792. 

Samuel Livermore, President, and John Calfe, Secretary ; and 
having made some progress in the revision, adjourned to Feb- 
ruary, 1792. At the adjourned session, the President being ab- 
sent from the State, Judge Pickering was chosen President pro 
tern. Among the attempted alterations, were the erasure of 
the sixth article of the Bill of Rights; the substitution of 
January for June, as the period of the annual organization of 
the government ; the enlargement of the Senate from twelve 
to fifteen members, and the reduction of the number of Rep- 
resentatives to sixty ; the erasure of the clause which requires 
members of the Legislature to profess themselves to be of the 
Protestant religion ; and, singularly as it may strike us, the 
exclusion of Attorneys at Law from a seat in either branch 
of the Legislature. All these propositions failed. Some al- 
terations, not very important, were however adopted; a part 
of which the people subsequently ratified, and rejected oth- 
ers. At a third session of the Convention in May, the Con- 
stitution was brought to its present form. For the sake of 
readily distinguishing the office from that of President of the 
United States, and of conforming to the usage of the other 
States, the title of the Chief Magistrate of the State was 
changed from President to Governor. The wisdom and ex- 
cellence of the great principles of this Charter of our Rights, 
are strikingly evinced by the fact, that whenever the ques- 
tion of a revision has since been submitted to the people, 
a great majority have given a decided negative. At the Pres- 
idential election near the close of the year, Washington re- 
ceived a second unanimous vote, and was inaugurated in the 
following March for another term of four years. 

This period is marked by the introduction into New-Hamp- 
shire of the Methodist denomination. The first Societies of 
this name in England were organized in 1739, by the 
celebrated and excellent John Wesley, one of the burning 
and shining lights of the last Century. In 17C6, the Rev. 
Philip Embury, a preacher of this denomination, removed 
from Ireland to the City of New-York, and from among his 
countrymen who had emigrated to this country, he gathered 
a Society, the first of the name in America. Not till after 
the Revolution was Methodism introduced into New-England. 
Elder Jesse Lee, from Virginia, formed at Lynn the first 
regular Methodist Society in Massachusetts, in the summer 
of 1791 ; and not long after, visited New-Hampshire and 
Maine, preparing the way for the formation of Societies in 
these States. This body of Christians now rauks among the 
most numerous denominations in the country, and has in this 



1794.] teriod ix.— 1734— 1805. 105 

State a large number of stations and circuits, supplied by 
about ninety travelling and local preachers. 

That great Revolution in France, which had overturned 
the throne and brought the King to a public execution, not 
only kindled in Europe the flames of war, but produced even 
in this country a powerful excitement. Enlisting, as it did, 
the sympathies of cue portion of the people in favor of 
France ; and producing, by its shocking and murderous 
excesses, an alienation from their former allies in the minds 
of another portion, accompanied with a disposition to 
cultivate a good understanding with Great Britain ; it was a 
leading cause of the division of the Americans into two 
great political parties. The one assumed the name of 
Republicans; the other, that of Federalists. It was the opinion 
of many, that our obligations to France for her aid in the 
Revolutionary war, could hardly be canceled, and that we 
ought to unite with her in opposing Groat Britain. This 
was not the prevailing opinion. Washington, sustained by a 
majority of the people, decided not to interfere in the contest. 
His celebrated Proclamation of neutrality, requiring the 
Citizens of the United States to abstain from any hostile acts 
towards either of the belligerent powers, was received in this 
State with great satisfaction. At a meeting of the citizens of 
Portsmouth, resolutions were passed, approving the Procla- 
mation, and expressing full confidence in the measures taken 
by Government to free our commerce from the depredations 
committed by the powers at war. 

The 17th of May, 1794, is remembered as the date of one 
of the most destructive frosts recorded in the annals of New- 
England. The season was unusually early ; the young 
apples were formed, and the rye headed ; when one fatal 
night blasted the hope of the husbandman, and destroyed 
almost entirely the fruit and English grain. 

At the election of this year, John Taylor Gilman of Exeter 
was chosen to succeed Gov. Bartlett in the chief Magistracy, 
and was continued in the chair for a period of eleven years. 
Gov. Bartlett had been induced by declining health to resign 
his office before the expiration of the year, and his retire- 
ment to private life was soon followed by his death. The 
first years of Gov. Gilman's administration furnish few 
events of importance ; they were however distinguished by 
the prevalence of harmony in the public councils, and the 
State was eminently prosperous. A great majority of the 
Citizens acted, at this time, in concert with the political 
party long distinguished by the name of Federalists ; the 



166 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1795. 

Legislature of course was decidedly of the same political 
complexion. 

An architectural enterprise, more important and difficult 
than any of the kind that had been achieved in the country, 
was now undertaken and accomplished. It was the erection 
of a bridge over the Pascataqua, from Newington to Durham, 
formed of three sections ; two of them were horizontal ; the 
third, arched ; the whole presenting a surface of planking 
almost a half a mile in length. It was thrown over the river 
at a place, where the depth, at high water, is generally more 
than fifty feet, and was finished with much elegance at an 
expense of sixty-two thousand dollars. The construction^ of 
this bridge, which excited the admiration of every traveller, 
required five thousand tons of timber, eighty thousand feet 
of plank, twenty tons of iron, and eight thousand tons of 
stone. John Pierce Esq. of Portsmouth, was the principal 
Superintendent of this great work, of which the chief object 
was to divert to Portsmouth a portion of the country trade, 
that had long been engrossed by Boston and Salem. 

In common with the rest of the country, the State was ag- 
itated in the summer of 1795, by the question of the ratifica- 
tion of Jay's treaty with Great Britain. By the constitutional 
majority of the Senate, the ratification had been advised. 
One of the New-Hampshire Senators, Mr. Livermore, was 
in favor of this measure ; Mr. Langdon was opposed. While 
the President had the subject under consideration, a Virginia 
Senator, in violation of an injunction of secrecy, caused the 
treaty to be published. There was at first a rush of public 
opinion against it, which for a little time seemed to be irresis- 
table, and Washington found himself placed in a state of seri- 
ous perplexity and embarrassment. Following the current ex- 
ample,the town of Portsmouth held a meeting and voted an 
Address against the treaty. A counter address was however 
prepared and signed by a large number of respectable indi- 
viduals. With the design of preventing the transmission to 
the President of the counter address, a mob, armed with 
clubs, paraded the streets, insulted many of the signers, 
broke their fences and windows, injured their ornamental 
trees, and with threats demanded the surrender of the paper 
from the person who had it in possession ; nor did they dis- 
perse till they had kept the town for some hours in confusion 
and alarm. Several of the ring-leaders were indicted for a 
riot at the next Superior Court. After a little calm reflection, 
a majority of the people of the State made up their minds 
in favor of the acceptance of the treaty. Washington, who 



1797.] period ix.— 1784— 1805. 167 

followed no other guidance than a sense of duty, decided 
after due deliberation to ratify it ; and its beneficial influence 
for many succeeding years on the commerce of the United 
States, has fully evinced the wisdom of the determination. 

The progress of internal improvement is seen in the grant 
of the first New-Hampshire turnpike, extending from Con- 
cord to the vicinity of Portsmouth. This was in 1796. It 
was followed in a few years by the grant of a second, from 
Claremontto Amherst; of a 'third from Walpole, through 
Keene and Jafrrey, to Ashby ; of a fourth, from Lebanon to 
Boscawen ; and of many o'thers in various sections of the 
State. Among them is one from the west line of Bartlett 
through the Notch of White Mountains. 

With deep regret the people of the United States learned 
from the farewell address of Washington, his determination 
to decline another re-election to the Presidency. The con- 
troversy between the two great parties, into which the course 
of events had divided them, became violent. John Adama 
was the favorite candidate of the Federalists; Thomas Jef- 
ferson, of the Republicans. The electoral votes of New- 
Hampshire were given to Mr. Adams, who was elected by a 
small majority, and inaugurated as President of the United 
States on the*4th of March 1797. 

In the following winter the frigate Crescent of thirty-two 
guns, built at Portsmouth by Col. Hackett, sailed from that 
port to the Mediteranean. She was destined to Algiers as a 
present from the United States to the Dey. For a series of 
year's our government, was under the necessity of purchasing 
exemption^from the depredations of the piratical Barbary 
powers on our commerce, by occasional payments under the 
name of presents : but for a long time this degrading system 
has been abolished, and these barbarians have been taught by 
merited chastisements to respect the American flag. 

A Medical Department was attached to Dartmouth College 
in 1798, chiefly by the enterprise of Doct. Nathan Smith of 
Cornish. Without early advantages of education, this gen- 
tleman had raised himself by dint of talent and industry, to 
the first rank in his profession. At a a time when a passage 
across the Atlantic for literary purposes, was deemed in this 
country to be a great achievement, he visited Europe for the 
purpose of acquiring information. For some years he was the 
only Medical Professor at Hanover, and by his personal efforts 
raised the Department to great usefulness and respectability. 
His practice as a physician and surgeon extended over a large 
portion of New-England. The views of the celebrated Dr. 



168 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE [1798. 

Rush, in relation to the deleterious effects of ardent spirits on 
the human system, he adopted and ably advocated ; and by 
communicating them to his numerous pupils, exerted an im- 
portant influence in preparing the Medical practitioners for 
the honorable stand they have since taken in promoting a 
Temperance reformation. Several of the last years of his life 
he spent in Connecticut, in connection with Yale College. — 
The Medical institution remained without the accommodation 
of a distinct edifice till 1810 ; when, by the aid of the Legis- 
lature, a neat and convenient Medical College was erected. — 
Among its means of usefulness, the Institution possesses a 
valuable Anatomical Museum, a well furnished Chemical 
Labratory, and a collection of botanical specimens. It has 
three Professorships, and its Lectures are well attended. 

In some preceding years the Yellow Fever had visited sev- 
eral of the Atlantic cities, bringing in its train alarm and death. 
It had caused in one of these years, the death of 4000 persons 
in Philadelphia, and the precipitate flight from the city of 
seventeen thousand of its inhabitants. In the summer of 1798, 
it appeared in the north part of Portsmouth. Though a gen- 
eral removal of the inhabitants from the infected neighborhood 
greatly limited its spread, yet it carried off a considerable num- 
ber of victims ; and but few who were seized recovered from 
the attack. 

The conduct of France w r as at this time so hostile as to 
excite in the United States a general indignation. Her gov- 
ernment encouraged depredations on our commerce, and or- 
dered our minister to quit her territory. On the arrival of 
three American Envoys to treat of reconciliation, a sum of 
money was demanded as a pre-requisite to negotiation. A de- 
mand so insolent aroused the spirit of the country, and " Mill- 
ions for defence but not a cent for tribute," w r as the general 
language of the day. The tide of indignant feeling rose to 
as great a height in New-Hampshire as in any portion of the 
American Republic. An address to President Adams, ex- 
pressive of the fullest approbation of the measures of his 
administration, and breathing the warmest resentment at the 
aggressions of France, was adopted by the Legislature, being 
carried in the Senate an unanimous vote, and in the House 
with only four dissenting voices. The warlike attitude as- 
sumed by the United States, together with the achievements 
of our then infant Navy in the capture of several French 
ships of war, taught the French Government that the rights 
of Americans were not to be outraged with impunity. 

In the midst the controversy, Washington, who had accept- 



1800.] period ix.— 1784— 1805. 169 

ed the office of Commander in Chief of the American Armies, 
died, on the fourteenth of December, 1799, after an illness of 
only one day. The country was clad in mourning. In this 
State, and throughout the Union, the twenty-second day of 
the succeeding February, the anniversary of his birth, was 
devoted to expressions of public sorrow ; and eulogies, almost 
without number, were pronounced before crowds of citizens, 
lamenting the fall of the man "first in war, first in peace, 
and first in the hearts of his countrymen." 

Almost without opposition had the Federalists hitherto car- 
ried the re-elections of Gov. Gilman. He was firm and decisive 
in his political opinions, and in concert with great majorities 
in both branches of the Legislature, yielded to the Federal 
Administration of President Adams a steady support. The 
current of popular feeling ran strong against France ; the 
black cockade, the distinguishing badge of the Federal party, 
was almost universally worn ; and in some parts of the State, 
to wear what was called the French cockade, rendered the 
security of the wearer's person somewhat precarious. But 
causes, tending to a political change, were in operation. With 
an increasing portion of the community, the measures of the 
Federal administration, especially the Alien and Sedition laws, 
and the Act requiring in many instances the use of stamped 
paper charged with a duty, were becoming unpopular.— 
Having enlarged their ranks with numerous recruits, the 
Republicans began in 1800 to take the field in regular 
array. This year and the next they supported as their candi- 
date for Governor, Judge Walker of Concord— and afterwards 
Mr. Langdon : but Gov. Gilman and the Federalists main- 
tained the ascendency some years longer. 

Convinced that nothing was to be gained by treating the 
United States in an overbearing manner, the French Directory 
was at length induced to make overtures of peace. These 
overtures were promptly met by the American government, 
and Ministers were appointed to repair to France, who, on 
their arrival, found the supreme authority in the hands of 
Bounaparte, as First Consul. With his government they 
concluded in September, 1800, a treaty, which was satisfactory 
to both countries. 

A new religious denomination had at this time its origin in 
Vermont, and was soon extended into New-Hampshire. — 
Elder Abner Jones, of the former State, having become dis- 
satisfied with some of the principles of the Freewill Baptist 
Churches, with which he had been connected, withdrew from 
their communion and began to propogate his own peculiar 
P 



170 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1801. 

sent iments. Many individuals in Vermont, New-Hampshire, 
and Maine, adopted his views, and took the distinctive appel- 
lation of Christians. A church of this denomination was 
afterwards collected at Portsmouth, and a considerable number 
of others have since been formed, chiefly in the central sec- 
tion of the State. 

In the summer and autumn of this and the two following 
years, a malignant Dysentery, occasioning a great mortality, 
prevailed in many of the towns. In the short space of a few 
weeks, the towns of Antrim and Hancock lost almost one 
fifteenth part of their whole population ; and other places 
suffered severely, though not in an equal degree. The most 
malignant form of this fatal disease has not since, to any con- 
siderable extent, been witnessed in the State. 

The recurrence of another Presidential election excited in 
the country an acrimony of feeling then unparallelled. So 
nearly were the political parties balanced, that each made the 
most strenuous exertions, and formed sanguine hopes of 
success. The candidates were the same as in the preceding 
election ; and again the votes of this State were given to Mr. 
xidams. No choice was effected by the Electoral Colleges: 
but after a violent struggle, Mr. Jefferson was elected by the 
House of Representatives, and the administration of the 
General Government fell in 1801 into the hands of the Re- 
publican party. This great change inspired the friends of 
that party in New-Hampshire with sanguine hopes of gaining 
the ascendency in the State government. Mr. Langdon, one 
of their most popular and efficient leaders, having been retur- 
ned to the House as a Representative from Portsmouth, they 
attempted, unsuccessfully however, to carry his election as 
Speaker. The next year they brought him forward as their 
candidate for Governor : but not till after a three years' strug- 
gle did they succeed in placing him in the Chair. 

Though the period now under review furnishes few events 
of thrilling interest, it affords unequivocal indications of public 
prosperity. The new Census gave the United States a popu- 
lation of more than seven millions ; of whom New-Hampshire 
contained 214,000 — exhibiting an increase of more than 30,000 
during the preceding ten years. The state of religion was 
becoming more prosperous. In some former years, Thomas 
Paine's scurrilous pamphlet, called by a strange misnomer 
The Age of Reason, filled with coarse and sophistical abuse of 
Christianity, had infected not a few minds with the taint of 
infidelity. It has been stated that he had submitted this work 
in manuscript to the perusal of Dr. Franklin, for his opinion ; 



1802.] period ix.— 1784— 1805. 171 

who on returning it, said, " I would advise you not to attempt 
unchaining the tiger ; but to burn this piece before it is seen 
by any other person ; if men are so wicked with religion, what 
would they be without it ?" The tide of infidelity, which the 
writings of Paine and Godwin, together with the blasphemous 
publications of the French school, had rolled in upon us, was 
now on the ebb. Revivals of religion, which since the days 
of Whitefield had been of rare occurrence, became more 
frequent. They had indeed occurred in considerable numbers 
for a few of the'last years of the preceding century, in portions 
of Massachusetts and Connecticut, and now began to be more 
known in New -Hampshire. Wherever they existed, and 
were conducted with discretion and humility, they awakened 
a spirit of attention to christian instruction ; excited numbers 
to the great duties of prayer and religious enquiry ; produced 
a happy reformation of morals ; and resulted in numerous 
accessions to the churches. The permanent fruits of piety 
and benevolence, exhibited by a multitude of their subjects, 
form the best attestation that they were the effect of a divine 
influence on the hearts of men. Some of the great objects 
of christian effort, which have since become so prominent, 
began at this time to attract attention. The New-Hampshire 
Missionary Society, the earliest charitable Institution of a 
religious nature in the State, of any considerable extent, was 
formed in 1801, for the purpose of furnishing to the scattered 
inhabitants of the new settlements, and to feeble churches, the 
means of christian instruction. During a period of thirty-two 
years its operations have been eminently useful. It has sent 
Missionaries into all the destitute parts of the State, and it now 
aids in sustaining many ministers in places, where, without 
such aid, the christian ministry could not be supported. Its 
annual income for many years averaged about two thousand 
dollars, and has lately risen to more than four thousand ; its 
efforts, in connection with the labors of other christian denom- 
inations, leave but few of the inhabitants of the State destitute 
of at least occasional opportunities of attendance on religious 
instruction. At a later period was formed the New-Hampshire 
Baptist Missionary Society. 

In February of the next year, a snow fell in New-England 
of great depth and density, much of it consisting of small 
particles like hail. Had it fallen in a light, fleecy form, it was 
thought it would have exceeded in depth the great snow of 
1717. Near the close of the year, the town of Portsmouth 
was visited by a most calamitous conflagration, which consu- 
med more than a hundred buildings, and laid waste a fair and 



172 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1804. 

important portion of the place. The amount of property 
destroyed was estimated at two hundred thousand dollars : and 
more than forty-five thousand were contributed in various 
places for the relief of the sufferers. 

We have now come to the era of the introduction into the 
State of the Cotton manufacture. Machinery for spinning 
cotton had been introduced into Rhode-Island as early as 
1790 — little more than twenty years after its invention in Eng- 
land by Sir Richard Arkwright. At New-Ipswich was erected, 
in 1803, the first Factory in New-Hampshire, followed in a 
few years by others in Peterborough, Pembroke, Hillsborough, 
and Jaffrey : and at a later period, by the extensive establish- 
ments in Dover, Somersworth, Dunstable, New-Market, 
Amoskeag, Franklin, and Exeter. The whole required an 
immense amount of capital, which in general has been inves- 
ted profitably for the owners, and usefully to the public. At 
the close of the year, the northern portion of the State was 
detached from the County of Grafton, and formed into a dis- 
tinct County by the name of Coos. 

Political disputes ran high. The Federalists had hitherto 
supported Gov. Gil man with uniform success, and secured 
majorities of their own party in both branches of the Legis- 
lature. For some years, Gen. Amos Shepherd of Alstead had 
been President of the Senate, and the Hon, John Prentice, a 
lawyer of Londonderry, Speaker of the House. But the 
Republicans were constantly gaining fresh accessions to their 
ranks ; and with increasing numbers, put forth more strenuous 
efforts. Though Gov. Gilman was re-elected in 1804, yet the 
majority in his favor was extremely small ; and the Republi- 
cans obtained a partial triumph by the return of majorities of 
their party both to the Senate and House of Representatives — 
Mr. Langdon being chosen Speaker in the popular branch of 
the Legislature. The Federalists however, in the quadrennial 
election of President at the close of the year, carried their 
ticket of Electors, and the votes of the State were accordingly 
given to Mr. Pinckney. In most of the other States the elec- 
tion resulted in favor of Mr. Jefferson, who had a great 
majority of the whole number of votes. 

After a warm contest, the Republicans in 1805 succeded in 
their efforts to displace Gov. Gilman, and brought in their 
favorite candidate, Mr. Langdon, by a majority of 4000. They 
also returned majorities attached to their party, not only to 
the Senate and House, but at this time to the Council also : — 
thus revolutionizing the government in all its branches. Gen. 
Clement Storer of Portsmouth was chosen President of the 



1805.] period ix.— 1784— 1805. 173 

Senate, and the Hon. Samuel Bell of Francestown, Speaker 
of the House. Philip Carrigain of Concord was elected 
Secretary of the State in the place of Joseph Pearson, and 
Nathaniel Gihnan succeeded Oliver Peabody as Treasurer. — 
The administration of the government fell entirely into the 
hands of the Republican party ; and with the exception of a 
few intervals of no long duration, they have retained it down 
to the present day. A change so important excited, as many 
of the actors now on the stage well remember, a deep interest 
in the community at large : nor could it be otherwise — politi- 
cal parties never acquire power without exultation, or part 
with it without regret. Gov. Gilman retired to private life, 
carrying with him a reputation for consistency, integrity and 
decision, which commanded the respect even of his political 
opponents. 

During the period now under review, death deprived the 
State of several distinguished citizens. Doct. Clement Jack- 
son, an eminent physician of Portsmouth, of extensive prac- 
tice, who possessed a disposition which " never turned from 
distressed objects without making exertions to relieve them," 
died at an advanced age in 1788. His son, Doct. Hall Jack- 
son, who inherited his father's practice and reputation, survi- 
ved him but a few years. The year 1795 is the date of Gen. 
Sullivan's death. Descended from Scottish parents in narrow 
circumstances, he evinced in early life a thirst for knowledge, 
which led him to offer his services to Mr. Livcrmore, an emi- 
nent lawyer of Portsmouth, to cut his firewood and take care 
of his horse — requiring no other compensation than his board, 
and the privilege of access to his library. His patron soon 
discovered in him talents, which induced him to transfer the 
youth from his kitchen to his office, as a student at law. He 
became a lawyer of eminence. In a variety of public offices 

as a Revolutionary General— as President of the State — and 

as Jud"-e of the United States' District Court — he exhibited 
ability and commanded respect. He deserves a high rank in 
the catalogue of self-made men, and furnishes a fine example 
to stimulate the young in the pursuit of useful knowledge. 
The Rev. Dr. Langdon, who was called from his ministry in 
Portsmouth to the Presidency of Harvard University, and was 
afterwards the minister of Hampton Falls, died in 1797. In 
1799 occurred the death of Gen. Joseph Cilley of Notting- 
ham, an officer distinguished in the annals of the revolution, 
and afterward for many years a prominent member of one 
or the other branch of the Legislature, or of the Council. — 
Death deprived the community in 1802 of William Gordon 

P* 



J74 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE [1805 

of Amherst, Attorney General of the State, who had been an 
active and influential member of Congress. The Hon. Sam- 
uel Livermore, one of the first settlers of Holderness, an em- 
inent lawyer, who was successively Attorney General, Chief 
Justice of the Superior Court, and for ten years a distinguish- 
ed member of the Senate of the United States, died in 1803. 
The Rev. Daniel Emerson of Hollis, who accomplished a 
ministry almost unequalled in length, extending from 1743 to 
the commencement of the present century, deserves respectful 
remembrance on account of the piety of his life, and the 
usefulness of his labors. Doct. Joshua Brackett of Torts- 
mouth, closed a useful life in 1802, having been a distinguished 
physician and naturalist, Judge of the Maritime Court during 
the revolution, and the successor of Gov. Bartlett in the Pres- 
idency of the Medical Society. " Such was his regard to the 
poor, that he never made a charge for his professional servi- 
ces, where he supposed that payment would occasion the least 
inconvenience." The Hon. Matthew Thornton was a 
native of Ireland, and was brought by his parents, when 
he was a child, to Wiscasset in Maine. He afterwards became 
a resident of Worcester, Ms.; and having acquired a Medical 
education, settled in Londonderry as a Physician. Amid the 
agitations and perils of 1775, he rose to the Presidency of the 
New-Hampshire Convention. Being soon after elected to 
Congress, his name has the honor of an enrolment among the 
signers of the Declaration of Independence. He sustained a 
variety of important offices, -and lived to an advanced age. — 
The last twenty-five years of his life were passed at Merri- 
mac, in a rural abode on the bank of the river. Having gone 
in 1803 on a visit to Newburyport, he was there arrested by 
death. His decease was followed in a short space by that 
of the Hon. Bezaleel Woodward, Professor of Mathematics 
and Natural Philosophy in Dartmouth College ; and also of 
the Rev. Doct. McClintock of Greenland, highly esteemed by 
his cotemporaries as a patriot and Divine. 

To these brief memorials will be added notices of two 
other individuals, whose deaths occurred in 1805. Judge 
Pickering of Portsmouth was a lawyer of much celebrity, 
and for many years one of the prominent men of his day. 
Not only had lie an important agency in the formation of 
the Constitution of New-Hampshire ; but at a later period,his 
eloquence had no small influence in procuring the ratification, 
on the part of this State, of the Federal Constitution. After 
the resignation of the Chair by President Langdon on his 
election as one of the Senators of New-Hampshire in Cob- 



1805.] period ix.— 1784— 1805. 175 

gress, Mr. Pickering, as senior Senator, presided over 
the State the remainder of the year. As a candidate for 
the chair in the election of 1790, he was defeated ; but 
was afterwards appointed Chief Justice of the Superior Court, 
and Judge of the United States' Court for the District of New- 
Hampshire. In his last years he was afflicted with mental 
derangement, and exhibited the afFecting spectacle of a bright 
intellect in ruins ! 

The Hon. John Dudley, a native of Exeter, and afterwards 
a resident of Raymond, was a self-made man, and furnishes 
a striking instance of the triumph of laborious diligence over 
the defects of early education. He arrived at adult age with- 
no other education than having learned to read, and lived as 
an hired laborer with Col. Gilman, grandfather of Gov. Gil- 
man. It has been well said that in " those good old times, 
there was not such an insuperable barrier between the kitch- 
en and the parlor, as modern wisdom or pride has erected ; " 
young Dudley was admitted into the family circle, and from 
an association with intelligent men, derived a fund of political 
and general information, to which he continued to make ad- 
ditions through a long series of years. His merits introduced 
him into public life. During the revolutionary war he was 
the Representative of his town in the Legislature, a member 
of the Committee of Safety, and the confidential friend of 
President Weare, Doct. Bartlett, and other patriots of the day. 
His sound practical wisdom and integrity at length elevated 
him to a seat on the bench of the Superior Court, which he 
held with reputation till the infirmities of age admonished 
him to retire. Much of his time after his retirement was de- 
voted to the reading of the Holy Scriptures, "in which he took 
great delight; often remarking, that he found new evidence 
of the truth of the christian religion whenever he opened his 
Bible." In his disposal of the evening of his life, he exem- 
plified the saying of an eminent statesman,who on being asked 
after his retirement from office, how he contrived to fill up 
his time ? replied, that to look back on a long life, and forward 
to a long eternity, was employment sufficient to occupy his 
few remaining years. 



PERIOD X. 



FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF GOV. LANGDON's ADM1NISTRA- 
• TION IN 1805, TO THE YEAR 1833. 

The political change which had transferred the control of 
the State government into the hands of the republican party, 
occasioned no great interruption of the harmony of society — 
as the minority yielded a ready submission to the will of the 
majority. Gov. Langdon retained the chair for several years, 
and conducted the Executive department with wisdom and 
moderation. He was happy in an association with successive 
Legislatures of political views coincident with his own, and 
the various departments of the government moved on harmo- 
miously, and acceptably to the majority of the people. 

On the sixteenth of June, 1800, was presented to the eyes 
of the people of New-Hampshire in common with millions 
of others, the sublime spectacle of a total eclipse of the sun 
near mid-day. For a short space this luminary waa entirely 
obscured ; during the greatest darkness, the sky was perfectly 
serene, the stars were visible, the birds sang their evening lays, 
and the animals betook themselves to their nocturnal retreats. 
The return of the light was instantaneous, presenting on one 
edge of the solar orb a luminous thread of incomparable 
brilliancy. 

Through the whole duration of the royal government in 
New-Hampshire from 1680 to 1775, a period of almost a cen- 
tury, Portsmouth was the permanent seat of government. — 
From the commencement of the revolutionary war, and on- 
ward through a period of more than thirty years, the Legis- 
lature was a migratory body, holding its session in different 
sections of the State, as the public convenience and the equal 
distribution of political privileges seemed to require. It met 
in Exeter, Portsmouth, Concord, and Hopkinton, frequently: 
in Dover, Amherst, Charleston, and Hanover, once in each 
place. Some efforts had been made to fix the seat of gov- 
ernment at Hopkinton ; but they failed of success. As a com- 



1808.] period x.— 1805— 1833. 1 77 

pliment to Gov. Langdon, the December session of 1805 was 
holden at Portsmouth, the place of his residence. The June 
sessions of 1806 and 1807 were at Hopkinton. At the close 
of the last of these sessions, the Legislature adjourned to 
meet the next year at Concord, and from this place they have 
not since removed. It has not however been established as 
the seat of government by any Legislative act, other than by 
adjournment. 

The war now raging between Great Britain and France, 
led each of these powers to injure in every possible manner 
the commerce of the other ; and produced a series of orders 
and Decrees from the belligerents, which made almost every 
American ship afloat, liable to capture. After ineffectual re- 
monstrances, Congress, with the view of preserving our 
ships, seamen and merchandize from capture, by retaining 
them in our own ports, and of bringing the aggressors to u 
sense of justice by depriving them of the benefits of Ameri- 
can commerce, passed an Act laying an Embargo of indefi- 
nite duration. This measure, interfering as it did with the 
pursuits of many of the people, and having the effect of de- 
pressing the prices of home produce and enhancing those of 
imported articles, was extremely unpopular in New-England ; 
and arrayed the larger portion of its inhabitants, in opposition 
to the policy of the general government. The whole body of 
the Federalists assailed it in the most determined manner.— 
Though the Legislature of this State in June, 1808, voted an 
Address to President Jefferson, expressive of their approba- 
tion of the measures of his administration, the Embargo in- 
cluded — the majority of the people were found not to sus- 
tain the sentiments of the Address. At the election of Rep- 
resentatives to Congress in August, the Federal ticket pre- 
vailed by a considerable majority ; and at the choice of 
Electors of President of the United States in November, tho 
Federal and anti-Embargo candidates were elected, though 
by a vote somewhat less decisive. The Electoral votes of the 
State were accordingly given to Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 
of South Carolina, the Federal candidate for the Presidency: 
the election however terminated in the choice of Mr. Madison, 
the Republican candidate, who was inaugurated as President 
of the United States on the 4th of March, 1809. Mr. Jeffer- 
son had declined another re-election, on the ground that rota- 
tion in office ought to be the practice in republican govern- 
ments. Congress was at length induced by various consider- 
ations to repeal the Embargo Act, and to substitute in its stead 
a law, prohibiting all commercial intercourse with France and 



178 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1812. 

Great Britain ; with a proviso, that in case either of these 
powers should repeal its edicts against neutral commerce,the 
non-intercourse act should cease to operate against that na- 
tion. This measure also met with strenuous opposition- — a 
restrictive policy seemed not to suit the genius of the people. 

Another indication of its unpopularity was exhibited at the 
election of State officers this year, by the defeat of Gov. Lang- 
don, and the election of his competitor, the Hon. Jeremiah 
Smith of Exeter, the Federal candidate for Governor. This 
gentleman, eminent for his legal attainments, was a native of 
Peterboro', and for some years had occupied the station of 
Chief Justice of the Superior Court with distinguished abili- 
ty. He held the Chief Magistracy but one year — the Repub- 
licans prevailing in 1810 to replace the former Governor, and 
to return majorities of their own party to both branches of 
the Legislature. They were victorious also in the election 
of 1811. 

In 1812, Gov. Langdon retired from the chair. Soneaily 
were the political parties balanced, that the scales hung al- 
most in equilibrium, and a small weight sufficed to give a 
turn. Though the Federalists had been unsuccessful in their 
attempts the two preceding years to elect Judge Smith, yet 
they had given him a heavy vote. They again brought for- 
ward Gov. Gilman, one of the most popular men in the State, 
as their candidate for Governor ; while the Republicans sup- 
ported the Hon. William Plumerof Epping, formerly a Sen- 
ator in the National Legislature. The former received a few 
votes more than the latter, but not a majority of the whole 
number ; the choice devolved of course on the Legislature, 
and in Convention of the two Houses, Mr. Plumer was elected 
Governor by a majority of twenty-two votes. Mr. Langdon 
withdrew from the turmoils of public life, carrying with him 
a large measure of the affection and gratitude of the people ; 
and passed his remaining years at his' seat in Portsmouth. — 
Justly was he considered as having contributed, in a degree 
scarcely inferior to any other man, to the establishment of 
American Indepeudance, and to the prosperity of his native 
State. The evening of life he devoted to social enjoyment, 
devotional exercises, and benevolent efforts to benefit his fel- 
low men. He was accustomed to meet a small circle of his 
christian neighbors, some of them in humble life, and engage 
with them in his turn in religious conversation and worship ; 
and was not unwilling to state, that such seasons were among 
his most valued hours. Immediately after his retirement from 
office,he became a Founderand liberal patron of the .Ve«> Hamp- 



1812.] period x.— 1805— 1833. 179 

shire Bible Society— an Institution, which has not only suppli- 
ed most of the destitute families of the State with the Inspir- 
ed Volume, but has contributed many thousands of dollars for 
the supply of other portions of our country, and of foreign 
regions. "Of the American Bible Society, it has been one of 
the most efficient Auxiliaries. 

The State Prison, or Penitentiary, was constructed this year 
at Concord of hammered granite, at an expense of thirty-seven 
thousand dollars. Placed under the immediate control of the 
Governor and Council, it early acquired the reputation of be- 
ing among the best regulated prisons in the country. Partic- 
ular attention has been paid by the officers to the moral and 
religious instruction of the convicts, with the hope of accom- 
plishing, at least in some instances, a radical reformation. — 
Before the erection of the Prison, there were eight crimes 
against which the laws denounced the punishment of death ; 
but on a revision of the criminal code this year, the Legisla- 
ture reduced the number of capital offences to two — treason 
and murder ; and instead of the whip and the pillory, pre- 
scribed by former laws in the punishment of some minor 
offences, they wisely substituted imprisonment in the Peni- 
tentiary — a change which humanity and religion must warmly 
approve. 

This year gave birth to a religious Institution which has 
acquired in the christian world no small consideration, The 
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. — 
Though the centre of its operations is at Boston, its corporate 
members are scattered through most of the States ; and among 
the citizens of New-Hampshire it numbers many of its patrons 
and friends. A desire on the part of a few young men of 
distinguished talent and piety, among whom were Mills and 
Judson, to engage in the enterprise of spreading a knowledge 
of the gospel in heathen lands, led to the formation of this 
Board. Its concerns have been so managed as to secure a 
large share of public confidence ; and its annual income, de- 
rived chiefly from voluntary contributions, has risen from 
small beginnings to about one hundred and forty thousand 
dollars. Under its patronage Missionary Establishments, some 
of which have been eminently useful in disseminating chris- 
tian knowledge, have been formed in Hindostan, Ceylon, Syria, 
Turkey, Greece, the Sandwich and Washington Islands, and 
among several tribes of North American Indians. It has 
sent exploratory Missions to China, Armenia, and Patagonia. 
Several liberally educated and excellent young men of this 
State, have been among the number of its Missionaries. 



130 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE [1812. 

For some years the course pursued both by Great Britain 
and France, had awakened resentments in the breasts of 
Americans. Both had been guilty of outrageous spoliations 
on our commerce. The two great political parties at home 
criminated each other in relation to their foreign attachments ; 
the Federalists accusing the Republicans of an overweening 
partiality to France, while the latter retorted by accusing the 
former of being the servile apologists of Britain. At length 
the course of events concentrated the chief weight of popular 
indignation on the heads of the British. The attack by a 
British man of war on an American frigate, in 1807, in our 
own waters, and in a time of peace — the long delay of repa- 
ration — the impressment of American seamen into British 
ships of war — the capture of American vessels — and the fail- 
ure of repeated efforts to obtain redress — exhausted the pa- 
tience of the nation and produced an exasperation of feeling 
which issued, in June, 1812, in a Declaration of War against 
Great Britain. By a large party the measure was opposed as 
unnecessary and unwise ; but it was urged forward by a deci- 
sive majority, as a war for the freedom of the Ocean. Vigor- 
ous efforts were immediately made to fit out ships of war 
and privateers, to annoy the commerce of the enemy ; also 
to raise a formidable army for the reduction of Canada. Of 
this army, Maj. Gen. Henry Dearborn, a resident of Massa- 
chusetts, but a native of New-Hampshire, and one of her 
revolutionary officers, was appointed Commander in Chief. 
This State furnished a considerable number of troops, and 
several efficient officers, of whom Brigadier Generals James 
Miller of Peterborough and John McNiel of Hillsborough 
were particularly distinguished. 

Some victories were achieved by American ships of war 
over British vessels of superior force, soon after the com- 
mencement of hostilities. But on the land, defeat and disgrace 
attended through the first campaign the arms of the Republic. 
Among the most disastrous events of this campaign, were 
the surrender of Gen. Hull and 2000 men to the British at 
Detroit, and the defeat of the Americans under Gen. Van 
Rensellaer, in an attempt to invade Canada on the Niagarae 
frontier. The friends of the national administration wer 
mortified and dejected ; and ascribed these failures to th e 
unreasonable opposition of the Federalists to the measures of 
the government: while they on their part attributed them to 
the incapacity of the administration. 

With a small majority of the citizens of New-Hampshire,the 
war was unpopular. This circumstance gave the Electoral 



1813.] period x.— 1805.— 1833 181 

votes of the State, at the quadrennial election of President, 
near the close of the year, to Dewitt Clinton of New- York ; who 
was supported, unsuccessfully however, by all the opponents 
of the War, in opposition to Mr. Madison, the incumbent of 
the Chair. It led also to a political change at the annual State 
Election in March, 1813 — when Gov. Oilman, after a retire- 
ment of eight years, was elected over Gov. Plummer by a small 
majority, and replaced in the Chief Magistracy, in which he 
was continued by the voice of the people for three successive 
years. The Federalists at the same time returned majorities 
of their own party to both branches of the Legislature. 

An Academical Institution at Plainfield, among the best 
endowed in the State, was incorporated at this period, and 
called the Kimball Uuion Academy. It possesses a permanent 
fund of $40,000, the liberal bequest of the Hon. Daniel Kim- 
ball ; of which the income, with the exception of a small 
portion, is devoted to the aid of pious and indigent young men 
destined to the christian ministry. The Institution is in a 
flourishing condition, and has thus far accomplished in a good 
degree, the benevolent design of its Founder. Such bequests, 
for a purpose so important, entitle the donor to an enrollment 
among the benefactors of his race. 

A law, enacted by the Legislature at the June session abol- 
ishing the "Superior Court of Judicature," and creating in its 
stead a "Supreme Judicial Court," excited in the public mind 
no little agitation. One of the Judges of the old Court was 
appointed to a seat on the bench of the new — the other two 
being dropped, and Judge Smith of Exeter was made Chief 
Justice. By the Republicans, the constitutionality of the 
measure was strenuously denied, on the ground that Judges 
could be removed from office only by impeachment, or an 
Address to the Governor by both branches of the Legislature ; 
while the Federalists maintained that as the office was created 
by the authority of the Legislature, the same authority was 
competent to abolish it. The autumnal sessions of the Court 
in the Counties of Strafford, Rockingham, and Hillsborough, 
exhibited the singular spectacle of two sets of Judges, each 
claiming to be the highest judicial tribunal of the State, at- 
tempting to exercise their conflicting jurisdictions over the 
same persons and things: but the members of the bar in gen- 
eral, the jurors, witnesses, and the majority of the people 
recognized the authority of the new Court. The Sheriff of 
Rockingham openly refused to obey its orders ; and the Sher- 
iff of Hillsborough, though he sent some of his Deputies to 
attend it, gave his personal attendance on the old Court. — 



182 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1813. 

These affairs occasioned some confusion, and induced the 
Governor to convene the Legislature in October. They sup- 
plied some deficiencies in the late Judiciary Act, and addressed 
the Chief Magistrate with a request for the removal from office 
of the two Sheriffs ; which was accordingly done. In the 
western Counties, the new Court proceeded in the discharge 
of its duties without opposition or embarrassment. 

To the calamities of war was added that of a dreadful con- 
flagration at Portsmouth, near the close of the year, which 
laid in ashes a flourishing portion of the town, including about 
400 buildings. More than one fourth part of these were 
dwelling houses, many of them large and elegant. So intense 
was the fire, that in the evening, the reflection of the light from 
the clouds was visible in the western parts of the State, and 
even in Vermont as far as to the summits of the Green Moun- 
tains, a distance of more than 100 miles. Large contributions 
of money and provisions were collected from all quarters for 
the relief of the numerous sufferers. 

The war with Britain had been prosecuted in the mean time 
with various success ; but the predoiiiinent character of the 
campaign of 1813 was that of failure. As the scene of its 
operations was without the limits of this State, a detailed ac- 
count of them comes not within the plan of a History of 
New-Hampshire. The chief military events of the year were 
the defeat and massacre of the Americans under Gen. Win- 
chester at Frenchtown ; the capture of York in Upper Canada 
by a detachment of American troops led by Gen. Dearborn; 
the defeat of the British by Gen. Brown in their attack on 
Sackett's Harbor ; the capture of the British squadron on Lake 
Erie by Commodore Perry ; the recovery of Detroit, and the 
defeat of the British by Gen. Harrison ; and the unsuccessful 
attempt of the' Americans under Gen.Wilkinson to penetrate to 
Montreal. Of the campaign of 1814, the general results were 
decidedly favorable to the American arms. In the sanguinary 
battles of Chippewa and Bridgewater, in which the sons of 
New-Hampshire, led on by Miller and McNiel, bore a distin- 
guished part, the victory, though dearly purchased, remained 
with the Americans. The British succeeded in their attempt 
on the City of Washington, but in their attack on Baltimore, 
they met with a mortifying defeat. Their naval armament on 
Lake Champlain, after a severe conflict, fell into the hands of 
Commodore McDonough ; and on the same day their invading 
army from Canada, under Gen. Provost, sustained a calamitous* 
defeat at Plattsburg, and retreated with precipitation. 

Late in the summer, a powerful British naval force came 



1814.] period x.— 1805— 1833. 183 

into Penobscot Bay and landed a body of troops, which took 
possession of Castine and some other towns on these waters. 
The proximity of this force awakened in Portland, Portsmouth 
and Boston, serious apprehensions of an attack ; so great was 
the alarm that many families hastily removed into the country. 
Large detachments of the militia were summoned to the pro- 
tection of Portsmouth, and stationed in and around the town, 
under the immediate command of the Governor. Apprised 
of the formidable means of defence, collected by the Ameri- 
cans at all the large towns on the coast, the enemy did not 
venture upon any of the meditated attacks. 

By the perils and sacrifices incident to such a state of things, 
the popular discontents were greatly aggravated. The party 
opposed to the war accused the national administration of 
employing the resources drawn from New-England on distant 
and impracticable objects, and of leaving this region destitute 
of the necessary means of defence. Some went even so far 
as to propose the retention both of the militia, and ot the rev- 
enue accruing in the eastern States, for their own protection. 
The State of Massachusetts appointed Delegates, to whom 
were added others appointed by Connecticut and Rhode-Island, 
who met in Convention at Hartford, for the purpose of consid- 
ering the public grievances and proposing means of redress. — 
In this Convention the Government of New-Hampshire took 
no pari. It has indeed been affirmed that Gov. Gilman pro- 
posed a special session of the Legislature, with the view of 
submitting to them the question of appointing Delegates on 
the part of this State ; but a majority of the Council, being of 
the Republican party, refused their concurrence. County 
conventions were however holdcn by the Federalists in Chesh- 
ire and Grafton, in which that party had large majorities ; — 
who elected Benjamin West and Mills Olcott to represent 
those Counties in the Convention at Hartford. This body, on 
their adjournment, published an Address to the people, enu- 
merating the grievances of New-England and proposing such 
alterations in the Constitution of the United States, as they 
supposed Avould prevent their recurrence in time to come. — 
What would have been the result of their meeting, had the 
war continued, it is impossible to determine — as the unexpec- 
ted cessation of hostilities, soon after their adjournment, 
relieved the public distress, and of course rendered their plans 
abortive. The alleged objects and procedings of the Hartford 
Convention were denounced by the Republicans in the strong- 
est terms. 

A powerful British expedition destined to attack New- 



184 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1815. 

Orleans, arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi near the close 
of the year. In their approach to the city, they were met and 
defeated by Gen. Jackson, on the 8th of January, 1815, with 
the loss of 2000 men ; while on the part of the x\mericans, 
who occupied a fortified position, only six or seven were killed ! 
A disparity, of which the annals of war scarce furnish another 
instance. So dreadful a slaughter seemed to exemplify the 
proud taunt of x\laric, "The thicker the hay, the more easily 
is it mowed." 

The news of this decisive victory was almost immediately 
followed by the anival of a British vessel at New- York, 
bringing intelligence still more welcome — that of Peace. — 
Expresses were instantly sent off in all directions, and the 
intelligence flew with electric rapidity into every nook and 
corner of the country — exciting an almost delirious joy. — 
Wherever it arrived at a large town or village in the night, the 
ringing of the bells summoned the inhabitants from their mid- 
night slumbers to receive the information ; and the morning 
sun shed its beams on multitudes of animated and smiling 
countenances. All parties of men joined in mutual congratu- 
lations. The soldier gladly exchanged the toils of the camp 
for the repose of home, and the mariner lost no time in again 
spreading his canvass to the wind, and stretching his way on 
the Ocean. Commerce assumed an unwonted activity, and in 
a short space poured into our harbors the riches of almost 
every clime. 

During the three or four preceding years, the northern 
States had witnessed the rise and spread of a new and singular 
disease, the Spotted Fever. In many instances it was quite 
mortal, sweeping away forty or fifty of the inhabitants of a 
common-sized country town in a few weeks. The first indi- 
cation of an attack was not unfrequently a sudden pain in some 
of the extremities, quickly spreadiug over the system, and 
often terminating fatally in less than twenty-four hours. If 
contagious at all, the epidemic was contagious in an extremely 
slight degree — raging in some towns, while others, with which 
they had unrestrained communication, were exempt from any 
unusual sickness. In consequence of its ravages, many of 
the congregations of the State were clad in the habiliments of 
mourning. 

A large and splendid map of New-Hampshire was published 
at this time by Philip Carrigain, Esq. under the patronage of 
the Legislature. The most eminent artists united in the opin- 
ion, that no map of any of the States had then been executed, 
comparable with it in simplicity of arrangement and taste of 



1816.] period x.— 1805— 1833. 185 

execution. To each town, and to each of the incorporated 
literary institutions, the government furnished a copy ; and 
many of the citizens suspended it in their dwellings. 

Soon after the Autumnal Equinox, occurred one of the 
most violent storms of wind and rain, ever known in J;he 
country, surpassing in violence the tempest of 1804, of 1751, 
and even the great Tempest of 1635, when some of the In- 
dians at Narraganset were compelled to climb trees to find a 
refuge from the waters. Its greatest fury was on the coast 
from Portsmouth to New-London. Within these limits, build- 
ings were demolished ; the wood and timber on thousands of 
acres blown down ; several churches wholly or partially de- 
stroyed ; and on many windows distant some miles from the 
sea, was deposited a thin covering of salt, produced by the 
spray forced by the blast from the surface of the ocean, and 
driven over the land in the form of mist. At Providence, on 
account of the narrowing of the river, the tide rose to a ter- 
rific height, forcing vessels into the streets, and threatening 
destruction both to the houses and their inmates. Women 
and children were in many instances rescued from the cham- 
ber windows by boats. Flocks of gulls, a bird which never 
leaves the vicinity of the sea, except by violent stress of 
weather, were seen 30 and 40 miles inland ; but as soon as 
the blast subsided they took wing, in a direction toward their 
own element. 

At the Election of 1816, the Federalists supported as then- 
candidate for the office of Governor, the Hon. James Sheafe 
of Portsmouth ; the Republicans however effected the elec- 
tion of Wm. Plumer, by a majority of about 2000 votes, and 
secured majorities in both branches of the General Court.— 
Gov. Gilman, who had declined to be a candidate for re-elec- 
tion, took his final leave of public life, and passed the residue 
of his years in retirement at his seat in Exeter. The Repub- 
lican Legislature of this vear repealed the Judiciary Act ot 
the Federal Legislature of 1813, thereby abolishing " lhe 
Supreme Judicial Court," and restoring the former « Superior 
Court of Judicature." Another important measure of the 
session related to Dartmouth College. Dimculties of long 
standing had existed between President John Wheelock and 
the Board of Trustees. He had referred the case by a memo- 
rial to the Legislature of the preceding year, who had ap- 
pointed a Committee to repair to Hanover and investigate the 
affairs of the College. Without waiting for a legislative de- 
cision, the Trustees at the next Commencement removed 
President Wheelock, and appointed the Rev. Francis Brown 

a* 



}86 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [i816 

to preside over the Institution. An act was now passed to 
"Amend the Charter, and enlarge and improve the Corpora- 
tion of Dartmouth College." It increased the number of 
Trustees, created a Board of Overseers to be appointed by 
the Governor and Council, possessing a supervisory power 
over the doings of the Trustees, and changed the style of the 
Institution from College to University. As this Act in effect 
deprived the old Trustees of the control of the College, and 
transferred it to men, who, as it was supposed, would favor a 
new order of things ; a majority of the former body resisted 
it as unconstitutional. The University Trustees and Overseers 
were unable to form a quorum of their respective Boards at 
their first meeting at Commencement, as the former Trustees 
refused to act with them, or to recognize their authority. A 
Legislative Act having reduced the number necessary to con- 
stitute a quorum, the new Trustees afterwards met at Con- 
cord, removed President Brown and Professors Adams and 
Shurtleff from Office, reinstated Mr. Wheelock in the Presi- 
dency, and appointed Professors in the room of those whom 
they had removed. Persons were authorized by them to take 
possession of the College edifices, library, and apparatus. — 
The newly appointed University officers began a course of 
Collegiate instruction ; but as the old officers continued on 
their part the usual course, in apartments procured for the 
purpose, and as almost all the students adhered to their cause, 
the University had little more than a nominal existence. 

The advantages of a connected view of a controversy 
which enlisted on one side or the other, the feelings of almost 
every citizen, will more than balance the inconvenience of 
anticipating dates. The old Trustees appealed for redress to 
the Superior Court of the State, whose decision, made in 
1817, was against them : on which they carried the matter 
before the Supreme Court of the United States. During its 
pendency, a variety of transactions, tending to increase "the 
popular excitement, occurred at Hanover. Two rival societies, 
The Social Friends, and The United Fraternity, had long exist- 
ed among the students, and had accumulated libraries of two 
thousand volumes each. These valuable libraries the Uni- 
versity officers wished of course to retain in the College edi- 
fice ; while the members of the societies, who were generally 
attached to the College and opposed to the University, deem- 
ing themselves justly entitled to the superintendence as well 
as the use of the property, determined to remove it to a place 
within their own control. On an evening in November, some 
of the University officers, with several attendants, attempted, 



16167] period x.— 1805— 1833. 187 

according to their own statement, to secure the doors of the 
library rooms for the purpose of preventing the removal. — 
No sooner had they entered the library of the Social Friends, 
than the cry, " Turn out, Social Friends, your library is bro- 
ken open !" resounded through the village, and quickly brought 
together a large Dumber of the College students. Indignant 
at the entrance, which they viewed as an assault on their prop- 
erty, they compelled the officers to retire into another apart- 
ment, and detained them there till the removal of the books 
was accomplished. 

In 1819, the Snpremc Court of the United States reversed 
the decision of the Superior Court of New-Hampshire, and 
declared the act of the Legislature intended to new-model 
the College, unconstitutional and void. This decision, being 
final, annihilated the University, and restored the College to 
its former standing. It suffered materially in the course of 
the controversy, by the loss of two or three years' use of the 
funds, edifices, and library. President Wheclock died before 
the decision was made. The people of the State were divi- 
ded for and against the College, partly by the influence of po- 
litical feelings, partly on the ground of religious sentiments, 
and partly by personal and local attachments ; the whole af- 
fair excited much unfriendly feeling, and was attended with a 
variety of unpleasant circumstances. 

To return to 1816 : — this year is the era of the formation in 
the city of New-York, of the American Bible Society : an In- 
stitution which has received from New-Hampshire a liberal 
support. In connection with its numerous Auxiliaries scat- 
tered over the country, it has gratuitously distributed, in the 
United States and in foreign countries, some hundreds of 
thousands of Bibles and Testaments, in seven or eight lan- 
guages. Its Anniversaries bring together great assemblies of 
Christians, of almost all the different denominations ; not for 
disputation or mutual proscription, but to join in peaceful 
and affectionate co-operation in giving a wider diffusion to 
the word of God. A glorious triumph of the gospel over hu- 
man prejudice and passion ! 

Enquiries in relation to the lawfulness of war, and the prac- 
ticability of its abolition among Christian nations, engaged at 
this time a share of attention, both in America and Europe. — 
Prior to this date, a society had been formed in Massachusetts 
for the diffusion of pacific principles, which published a Pe- 
riodical called " The Friend of Peace." Some few of the 
citizens of New-Hampshire became interested in the subject. 
One of the earliest and most efficient writers on the side of 



188 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1816. 

Peace, was the Rev. Noah Worcester, a native of this State, 
who was for many years the Minister of Thornton, and after- 
wards removed to Massachusetts. His '• Solemn Review of 
the custom of War," passed through many editions, and made 
to some extent an impression on the pnblic mind, both in this 
country and in Britain. From these incipient efforts have 
sprung the American Peace Society, and some others of a 
similar character in Europe. Their object is to convince so- 
ciety, that war is not a necessary evil ; that a custom which 
in past ages has squandered the treasures, corrupted the mor- 
als, and destroyed the happiness of nations — has butchered 
millions of victims — and has often arrayed under opposing 
standards, for the purpose of shedding each other's blood, 
professed followers of the same Saviour — may, and ought to 
be abolished, as repugnant to the gospel. Their progress in 
disseminating these principles, has been moderate, but suffi- 
cient to encourage further effort ; from the great body of 
Christians, the subject has not yet received that attention 
which its importance demands. Is war in any case consist- 
ent with the precepts of Christianity ? — if sometimes consist- 
ent, when ? — are questions worthy the serious consideration 
of every mau who aims to regulate his life, not merely by the 
customs of the world, but according to the revealed will of 
God. 

A belief had long and extensively existed of the practica- 
bility of a canal from the Merrimac to the Connecticut, by 
way of Sunapee Lake. It was to leave the Merrimac at the 
junction of the Contoocook, to proceed thence to the lake, 
and onward to the Connecticut by the Sugar river valley. — 
On a survey of the route, and of the shores of the Sunapee, 
by Commissioners appointed by Massachusetts and New- 
Hampshire, the lake was found to be elevated more than eight 
hundred feet above the two rivers ; and the canal to be of 
course impracticable, except at an expense far surpassing all 
the probable benefits. 

It would be improper to close the account of 1816 without 
a notice of the remarkable prevalence of cold, through the 
summer and autumn. The year is well remembered as the 
cold season, and is often designated in familiar conversation as 
the poverty year. The mean annual temperature, as observed 
at Epping, was 43°. Snow fell in the southern part of the 
State on the 9th of June ; and August was the only month of 
the year exempt from frost. Early autumnal frosts almost de- 
stroyed the crop of maize. At Lyman, the ice formed in a 
well, sunk in elevated ground at some distance from Connec- 



1817.] period x.— 1805— 1833. ISO 

ticut river, was not dissolved till the latterpart of July. Not 
a few came to the conclusion that it was vain to think of rais- 
ing their bread on the cold hills of New-Hampshire, and that 
they must hasten to the remoteWEs-r; where they fondly hoped 
to find an almost perpetual sunshine and unfailing plenty. — 
Never was the passion for emigration, then familiarly called 
the " Ohio Fever" at a greater height. But though the unu- 
sual aspect of the season deprived the State of a portion of 
its inhabitants, by inducing removals, it had a moral influence, 
highly salutary. It reminded man of his dependence on his 
Creator, and awakened in many a breast serious reflection. — 
In many of the towns, an improved state of religious society, 
became strikingly evident. 

The Rev. Dr. Dwight, President of Yale College, who died 
early in 1817, merits the respectful remembrance of the citi- 
zens of New-Hampshire for his vivid descriptions of her 
scenery, and his valuable notices of the history, laws, and 
manners of her people. He ranks among the greatest and 
best men our country has produced; and his eloquence, moral 
dignity, and admirable discipline, imparted a lustre to the 
great literary Institution, in which he held the Academical 
Chair. Courted in early life by prospects and even offers of 
the highest civic distinction, he preferred the labors of the 
christian ministry in a country parish. But alight so brilliant 
could not long be hid j on tlit; occurrence of a vacancy in 
the Presidency of Yale College, every eye was turned on him 
as the fittest candidate for the vacant chair. More than any 
other man, he contributed to check the alarming progress of 
infidelity near the close of the last century. Of his '-Trave's 
in New-England and New-York," in four large Octavos, no 
inconsiderable part is filled with interesting details relative to 
this State. 

To the Federal candidate, Rufus King of New-York, the 
returns of the votes for a successor to Mr. Madison in the 
Presidency of the United States, gave but a small number. — 
Mr. Monroe received a great majority, including those of 
New-Hampshire, and was inaugurated on the fourth of March. 
In the following summer he made a tour of observation in the 
northern States, and was received by both political parties 
with cordiality and respect. He came from Boston to Ports- 
mouth, and wont thence into Maine. On his return he passed 
through Dover, Concord, and Hanover into Vermont, and was 
every where received with processions, addresses, entertain- 
ments, and other marks of popular respect. One object of 
the tour was to allay the irritations, subsisting between the 



190 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1819. 

great political parties, and in this he succeeded to a consider- 
able extent. His visit brought them in contact under circum- 
stances favorable to the excitement of kindly feelings ; there 
was a mitigation of party spirit; in many places an "era of 
good feelings" commenced and continued for several years. — 
At Hanover occurred a little incident, which imparted to hi3 
visit in that village no small degree of interest. Mrs. Wheel- 
ock, the widow of the late President Wheelock, was one of 
a circle of ladies and gentlemen, met to enjoy an interview 
with the President. Forty years before, when a resident of 
New-Jersey, she had nursed Mr. Monroe, then a Lieutenant in 
the American army, in a severe illness occasioned by a wound 
lie had received in the battle of Trenton. Though he had not 
seen her since, the President recognized her — and manifested 
much gratification at so unexpected an opportunity of express- 
ing his gratitude to his former benefactress. 

The State House or Capitol at Concord, a beautiful edifice 
of hammered granite, containing ample accommodations for 
the Executive and Legislative departments of the government, 
was constructed this year at an expense of more than eighty 
thousand dollars. Much of the labor was performed by tha 
convicts in the State Prison. The Portsmouth Athenaeum 
was incorporated the same year ; an Institution possessing a 
valuable Library, and Cabinets of Mineralogy and of Natural 
History. 

Gov. Plumer having declined another re-election, the Hon. 
Samuel Bell of Chester was chosen Governor, in 1819, by a 
large majority over the Federal Candidate, William Hale of 
Dover. The number of votes cast was comparatively small, 
indicating the existence at this period of an apathy in regard 
to the elections, quite unlike the state of things in former 
years. There was a feeling in the political parties like that 
of competitors who have wrestled together, till both are be- 
come weary of the struggle. A few years' rest recruited their 
strength for the renewal of the combat. Soon after Gov. 
Bell's accession to the Chair, the Legislature passed, not 
without powerful opposition, the well known Act commonly 
called the Toleration law. Before this time, the law required 
each citizen to pay his proportion toward the support of tho 
settled Minister of the town or parish in which he resided, 
unless he produced a certificate from some society of another 
denomination, stating that he attended their worship, and 
contributed to the support of their religious order. The % new 
Act provides, that no person shall be compelled to join or 
support any congregation, church, or religious Society, with- 



1821.] period x.— 1805— 1833. 191 

out his express consent ; and that any person, choosing to 
separate himself from such Society, shall, on leaving a 
written notice with the Clerk, he exempted from any futuro 
expenses that may he incurred by the Society. To the great 
interests of religion and morality, the practical operation of 
this Act, casting the maintainance of the Christian Ministry 
entirely on its voluntary supporters, has not been adverse. 
The institutions of religion have been as well attended, and 
probably as well supported since this enactment, as at any 
former period. Of neat and elegant edifices for public wor- 
ship, "with spires pointing to Heaven," proclaiming to the 
traveller that the surrounding population acknowledge the 
God of Heaven, a greater number have been erected than in 
any other period of the same duration. 

In the latter part of 1820 a revival of religion began in 
Connecticut, which in the course of a year extended its 
influence to half the towns in that State, and to many others 
in various parts of New-England. Some of the towns in 
New-Hampshire exhibited an unusual interest in the means 
of religious knowledge, and the churches were materially 
enlarged. 

■#The census taken at this time gave the State a population 
of 244,000, surpassing that of 1810 by 30,000. The whole 
population of the United States fell not much short of ten 
millions. By a vote almost unanimous, the Presidential 
election near the close of the year again resulted in favor 
of Mr. Munroe — only one electoral vote, and that a New- 
Hampshire vote, being given to John Q,. Adams. 

A whirlwind, by far the most violent ever known in this 
quarter, entered this State from Vermont on the 9th of Sept. 
1821, and passed through Cornish, Croydon, and Wendell, to 
Sunapee Lake, gathering fury in its progress. A family in 
Wendell, living eighty rods from the lake, were struck with 
alarm by its terrific approach, and saw the air filled with birds 
and branches of trees, careering in wild disorder. The next 
moment their buildings were entirely demolished; a child 
sleeping on a feather bed was carried into the lake and drown- 
ed ; and the bed was afterwards found in Andover, having 
been hurled through the air almost twenty miles. With fear- 
ful impetuosity the whirlwind passed over the Lake in the 
form of an inverted pyramid, drawing up vast quantities of 
water ; and crossed the towns of New-London, Sutton, and 
Warner, to Salisbnry ; demolishing buildings, killing and 
wounding several persons, forcing trees, logs, and even rocks 
into the air, and making the heaviest objects the plaything of 



192 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1822, 

the raging element. In width it did not exceed a quarter 
of a mile. It is remarkable that on the same day, and 
almost at the same hour, another whirlwind of almost equal 
violence, and parallel in its course, passed from Warwick, 
Mass. through Orange to Athol, where its fury was broken by 
striking against the side of Tully mountain. These whirl- 
winds both took a direction from west to east, at the distance 
of sixty miles from each other ; so tremendous was their pow- 
er, that garments, beds, articles of furniture, branches of trees 
and fragments of buildings were hurled in the air to the dis- 
tance of ten, and even twenty miles. 

A law was enacted this year imposing on the Banks an 
annual tax of one half of one per cent on the amount of 
their capital, for the purpose of creating a Literary Fund. 
The tax produced at first about five thousand dollars annually, 
and in a few years, the avails of it amounted by the accumu- 
lation of principal and interest, to more than fifty thousand 
dollars. Originally it was intended to constitnte an endow- 
ment for another College, to be located near the centre of the 
State, and placed under the direction of the State govern- 
ment: but after some years other views prevailed, and the 
legislature thought proper to distribute the fund among the 
several towns, to be applied at their discretion to purposes of 
education. The gradual increase of banking capital has 
swelled the amount of this tax to more than ten thousand 
dollars annually, which sum is in like manner distributed to 
the towns for the same purpose. 

Gen. Stark of Manchester, the last survivor of the Ameri- 
can General Officers in the Revolutionary War, in which as 
well as in the preceding French war he rendered important 
services to his country, died in May, 1822 — having passed 
many of his last years in agricultural pursuits on the bank of 
the M err i mac, and attained to the great age of ninety three. 
He was born at Londonderry, and was a descendant of one 
of the Scottish familes who settled in that town. When al- 
most eighty years old, he received from Jefferson an affection- 
ate letter, in which he complimented him on his former victory 
at Bennington, as having given the first favorable turn to that 
important campaign. A few years afterwards, he was solicited 
by some gentlemen of Vermont to attend a celebration of 
our national Independence at Bennington, the theatre of his 
triumph, with the offer of the expenses of his journey being 
defrayed by those who sought the gratification of seeing him. 
On account of the infirmities of age, and also on the ground 



1823.] period x.— 1805— 1833. 193 

that those who invited him would find him ' not worth seeing/ 
he declined the invitation. 

A bridge over the Pascataqua from Portsmouth to Kittery 
in Maine, had long been an object of much interest ; but on 
account of the rapidity and great depth of the river, varying 
from 43 to 53 feet at low water, for the space of almost sixty 
rods, the enterprise, however desirable, had been considered 
as impracticable. It was at this time effected by some public 
spirited citizens in the short period of six months, at an expense 
of about $32,000. The bridge has two sections of 480 and 
1750 feet in length ; difficulties, such as had not been before 
encountered in this country, were overcome in the progress 
of its erection. It greatly facilitates the communication of 
Portsmouth and all the region south of it, with the State of 
Maine. The preceding year had witnessed the erection of a 
bridge of equal length, connecting Portsmouth with New- 
Castle. 

For the first time, an attempt was made to introduce into 
New- Hampshire the principles of the Roman Catholic Church* 
The Rev. Mr. Barber, who had passed some time at Rome, 
was ordained at the Catholic Chapel in Boston as a Catholic 
Missionary to this State ; and has since collected a small society 
at Claremont — to which has been added another society of 
this denomination at Dover. 

On the completion of two centuries from the first settlement 
of the State in 1623, a centennial celebration of this event at 
Portsmouth on the 21st of May, 1823, excited much interest, 
and awakened many a recollection of "olden time." An ora- 
tion was delivered on the occasion by Nathaniel A. Haven; 
and a Poem by O. W. B. Peabody. There was a numerous 
collection of eminent citizens, and a handsome display of the 
portraits of distinguished personages, who had flourished 
here in former generations. 

Having been elected as one of the Senators of this State in 
Congress, Gov. Bell retired from the Chair in 1823. For some 
time the custom had obtained of making nominations of can- 
didates for the Chair, on the part of each political party, by 
its members in the Legislature, at some session previous to 
the election. By the Republican members, the Hon. Samuel 
Dinsmoor had been thus nominated as the successor of Gov. 
Bell. In this nomination a portion of that party did not then 
acquiesce ; and in pursuance of a counter nomination after- 
wards made at a meeting in Dover, they, in conjunction with 
the Federalists, effected the election of the Hon. Levi Wood- 
bury, a native of Francestown, who had been a Judge of the 
R 



.194 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1824 

Superior Court. Another practice, which within a period not 
long, has grown into a custom, is that of nominating Counsel- 
lors° Senators, and County officers, at Conventions of Delegates 
from the towns in the several Counties and Districts, appointed 
by their respective political parties. At the June session of 
the Legislature the New-Hampshire Historical Society was 
incorporated, for the purposes of collecting and preserving 
documents illustrative of the History of the State. It has 
begun the formation of a Library, and published four Vol- 
umes of valuable historical papers. 

No choice of Governor was effected by the people in 1824. 
Gov. Woodbury and the Hon. David L. Morril of Goffstown, 
formerly a Senator in Congress, both of the Republican school 
of politics, were the two prominent candidates ; but as neither 
had a majority of all the votes, the latter was elected by the 
joint ballot of the Senate and House of Representatives, and 
held the Chair by successive re-elections for three years. 

At this period was formed the New-Hampshire Sunday 
School Union, auxiliary to the American Sunday School Union 
at Philadelphia. This excellent Institution, whose object is 
the formation and encouragement of Sunday Schools, has 
published a variety of cheap, juvenile books, well adapted to 
interest and benefit the young. The Founder of Sunday 
Schools was Robert Raikes, of Gloucester in England. Going 
one day into the suburbs of that city to get a man to work in 
his garden, and not finding him at home, he waited for his 
return. Being much annoyed by a group of noisy, profane 
boys in the street, he asked the gardener's wife why they were 
not better instructed ? "O Sir," said she, "if you were to see 
them on Sunday, you would pity them indeed ; we can't read 
our Bible in peace for their noise." This little incident,which 
occurred in 1782, gave Mr. Raikes the first hint of the utility 
of Suuday Schools and led to the formation of a large number 
of them in England. The plan was introduced at Philadelphia 
in 1791 by Bishop White, Dr. Rush, Mr. Ralston, Mr. Carey 
and other eminent philanthropists. Sunday School instruction 
was little known in New-Hampshire before the year 1815 ; — 
since that time, the system has been adopted in almost every 
part of the State, and by almost all the religious denomina- 
tions. A "New-Hampshire Sabbath School Unicn" has been 
formed by the Baptist also ; and the whole number of Sunday 
School scholars throughout the State now amounts to more 
than forty thousand. 

At the warmly contested Presidential election near the close 
of the year, there were four candidates for the Presidency ; 



1826.] period x.— 1805— 1833. 195 

John Q. Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford, and 
Henry Clay, each of whom was respectably supported. Of 
the Republicans of New-Hampshire, a portion preferred Mr. 
Crawford; but another portion amalgamated with the Feder- 
alists in the support of Mr. Adams. The Electoral votes of 
the State were given to the latter candidate, who, on failure of 
a choice by the Electoral Colleges, was chosen by the House 
of Representatives and inaugurated as President on the fourth 
of the following March. 

Though Gov. Woodbury had lost his election to the Chair 
the preceding year, he was returned from Portsmouth to the 
House of Representatives in 1825, and chosen Speaker. In 
the course of the session, he was elected one of the Senators 
for this State in Congress, and resigned the Speaker's Chair — 
which was filled for the remainder of the session by the Hon. 
Henry Hubbard of Charlestown. Gen. La Fayette, the ardent 
friend of America in the Revolutionary struggle, revisited this 
country after an absence of more than forty years. He was 
everywhere received as the Nation's Guest, and greeted with 
expressions of enthusiastic attachment. Crowds of citizens 
flocked to see and welcome him. I5y invitation of the govern- 
ment, he came into this State in June, 1825, and was received 
by Gov. Morril, by the Legislature, and by the citizens at large, 
with every demonstration of gratitude and affection. At a 
public dinner at Concord, provided in honor of his visit, the 
tables were occupied by more than 700 persons, including the 
Executive, the members of the Senate and House of Repre- 
eentatives, the judges and other public officers, and more than 
200 hundred of the aged survivors of the revolutionary army, 
]ed by Gen. Pierce. 

The fourth of July, 182G, completed half a century since 
the Declaration of American Independence, and was rendered 
memorable by the death, on that day, of two of the illustri- 
ous signers of that instrument, John Adams and Thomas Jef- 
erson, former Presidents of the United States. Though rivals in 
politics, they had cherished after their retirement to private 
life a mutual esteem ; and were not divided in death. Their 
former concurrence, the one as the writer, the other as the elo- 
quent advocate of that Declaration ; their subsequent rivalry as 
leaders of great political parties ; their elevation to the first 
office in the country ;the coincidence of their deaths ; the day 
of its occurrence ; and the completion of half a century from 
the birth of our freedom ; — all formed an assemblage of cir- 
cumstances, which excited throughout the country an indiscri- 
bable sensation. 



196 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1826. 

Numerous projects were on foot at tins time for the extension 
of inland navigation in various parts of New-England. A 
Company was formed at Hartford, called the Connecticut River 
Company, for the purpose of rendering the river of that name 
navigable, by means of dams and canals round the successive 
falls, as far as to Lyman, N. H. Many individuals were im- 
pressed with the belief of the practicability of a canal communi- 
cation from Dover, through Winncpisiogee Lake to the 
Pemigevvassett, and thence to Connecticut river and Lake 
Memphremagog; thus connecting the Capitals of New-Hamp- 
shire and Massachusetts with Canada. Col. Dewit Clinton 
of the U. S. corps of Engineers, and Col. Carrigain, the 
Commissioner of the government of New-Hampshire, had 
examined in the preceding year the upper portion of Connec- 
ticut river, from its parent lake to Maclndoes' falls in Lyman, 
a distance of 92 miles; and found the descent of the river, 
within these limits, to be 1170 feet. The Legislatures of 
Vermont and New-Hampshire granted to the Connecticut 
river Company the powers necessary to effect within the ju- 
risdictions of these States, their public spirited designs ; but 
nothing effectual was done, and probably all these splendid 
enterprises will long remain unaccomplished. 

An Academical Institution having for some years existed at 
New-Hampton, it was now enlarged under the provisions of 
a new Charter, granted by the Legislature, and a Theological 
Department was annexed to it, chiefly by the agency of gen- 
tlemen of the Baptist denomination. It is placed under the 
immediate superintendence of two Professors; one of Theol- 
ogy and the Languages ; the other of Mathematics, Natural 
Philosophy and English Literature. Surrounded by romantic 
scenery, and possessed of respectable accommodations, it is 
now the resort of a large number of students, including many 
destined to the christian ministry, and ranks among the flour- 
ishing Institutions of the State. 

On the twenty-eighth of August occurred a most destruc- 
tive flood, produced by a sudden and violent rain, which 
raised the branches of the Connecticut and Merrimac rivers 
to an unprecedented height. Little brooks became raging 
torrents ; bridges, mills, dams, and buildings were swept away ; 
and such chasms cut in the roads, a.sto render it easier in many 
instances to construct new ones than r< pair the old. At Bath, 
the Ammonoosuc suddenly became turbid and thick with 
earth, then spread itself over its lower banks and meadows, 
and soon exhibited one wide, roaring, sweeping roll of billows, 
bearing along the wreck of bridges, buildings, fences, crops, 



1826.] period x.— 1805— 1833. 197 

and animals caught by the waves in their pastures. The beds 
of many mountain streams were excavated to a surprising 
depth and width ; in some places the fury of the flood cut out 
for the waters new and permanent channels. Torrents of water 
rushed through the Notch of the White Mountains, breaking 
up the very foundations of the turnpike road for a great dis- 
tance, and leaving a shapeless mass of loosened crags, rocks 
piled on rocks, and yawning chasms. From the sides of the 
mountains, slides or avalanches descended to the lower grounds, 
bearing down thousands of tons of gravel, rocks and broken 
trees; and laying bare the solid mountain rock over an extent 
of hundreds of acres. Late in the preceding day, a party of 
gentlemen, among whom were Col. Bartlett and Mr. Moore of 
Concord, left Crawford's, an house more than lour miles from 
the Notch, on an excursion to the summit of Mount Washing- 
ton. They arrived in the evening at a Camp which had been 
constructed at the foot of the steep ascent of the mountain, 
where they passed the night. The next morning being cloudy 
and rainy, they concluded to remain at the camp that day ; but 
the increasing rain having in the afternoon extinguished their 
fire, they reluctantly decided to return. With the utmost dif- 
ficulty, and not without danger, did they effect their retreat, 
by felling trees over the impetuous torrents, and arrived at 
Crawford's in the evening. Had they remained on the moun- 
tain another night, they must have perished ; as the Camp was 
afterwards found to have been swept away, and avalanches to 
have passed on either side at the distance of only a few rods. 
The most affecting story, connected with this Hood, remains 
to be told. Two miles from the Notch, on the road to Bart- 
lett, at "The Notch House" lived the respectable and prosperous 
family of Samuel Willey, consisting of himself, wife, live 
children and two hired men. An avalanche in its descent from 
the mountain, came near the house, where it divided itself into 
two portions, one of which crushed the barn and an adjoining 
shed. Alarmed at the thundering noise, and apprehensive of 
the immediate destruction of their habitation, the family fled 
for safety ; but unhappily in the darkness of the night they fell 
into the track of the other portion of the avalanche, and were 
all buried under masses of earth and rocks. Some of the 
bodies were afterwards discovered, by the scent of dogs, at the 
distance of fifty rods from the house, mangled and disfigured. 
The house itself remained uninjured ; but a beautiful little 
meadow in front of it, was buried under immense quantities of 
sand, gravel, rocks and trees, precipitated from the mountain. 
Had the unfortunate inmates remaiued within, they had been 
R* 



198 HISTORY OP NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1827. 

in safety amid surrounding devastation — but an inscrutable 
Providence otherwise directed. "It is not in man that walk- 
eth to direct his steps." 

At the Election of State officers in March, 1827, the Hon. 
Benjamin Pierce of Hillsborough, who had been an officer in 
the Revolutionary war, and afterwards for many years a Rep- 
resentative and Counsellor, was chosen Governor with litttle 
opposition. A law, drawn up with great ability, and embody- 
ing a great variety of wise and excellent provisions, most of 
which yet remain in force, was enacted at the June session of 
the Legislature, for the regulation of primary schools. This 
law has contributed much to bring our schools to their present 
state of improvement and efficiency. The State contains more 
than 1700 school districts, and 1600 school houses, which are 
the resort of about sixty thousands of children and youth ; and 
with the addition of those who attend private, select, and aca- 
demical schools, it has been thought that tovo sevenths of the 
whole population are for some portion of the year in school. 
Many of the best elementary and higher Class books now used 
in American schools, are the productions of citizens of New- 
Hampshire. 

A salutary excitement of the public mind at this period on 
the subject of Temperance, was followed by the formation of 
State, County, and Town Temperance Societies, in rapid suc- 
cession. No sooner did men begin seriously to reflect, than 
multitudes were convinced that the former custom of tolera- 
ting a free use of ardent spirits is a bad one ; that all the 
innumerable cases of intemperance originate from the use of 
a little iu the outset ; that the article is never necessary in 
health ; that the common use of it is a prolific source of sick- 
ness, poverty, crime,, domestic wretchedness, mental debase- 
ment, and premature death ; and that christians and patriots 
ought to exhibit a reformed example. Not only men and 
women, but great numbers of youths and even children, old 
enough to understand the matter, engaged ardently in the 
great reform. To the "American Society for the promotion 
of Temperance," is due the honor of engaging in the work, if 
not first, yet efficiently. An Address on Temperance delivered 
by Jonathan Kittredge at Lyme, in the early stage of the ref- 
ormation, passed through many editions, each containing some 
thousands of copies, and exerted an important influence on a 
great portion of the community. 

At this period, the old political parties were to some extent 
blended together. A few of the Federalists, enlisting them- 
selves with the friends of General Jackson, had gone over to 



1829.] period x.— 1805— 1833. J 90 

the Republicans ; while a larger portion of the latter amalga- 
mated with the former in the support of Mr. Adams. The 
party friendly to the Adams administration prevailed, by a 
email majority, to elect in 1828 the lion John Bell of Chester, 
in opposition to Governor Pierce* At the quadrennial election 
of President near the close of the year, the parties put forth 
the moststrenuous exertions. New-Hampshire again gave her 
electoral votes to Mr. Adams: but his competitor, General 
Jackson, was chosen by a decisive majority — an event, regar- 
ded by his supporters as a signal trimph, and followed, as a 
consequence naturally to be expected, by somewhat numerous 
removals of former office-holders. This success animated his 
friends to make such efforts at the next election of State offi- 
cers, 1829,as accomplished a change in the State administration, 
displacing Gov. Bell and replacing Gov. Pierce ; who in his 
message to the Legislature, announced his intention of decli- 
ning another re-election. 

The College edifice at Hanover needing repairs, and the 
exigences of the Institution demanding enlarged accommoda- 
tions, President Lord obtained from its friends, in this and the 
adjoining States, subscriptions to the amount of $30,000: an 
aid which enabled the Trustees not only to repair the old 
edifice, but to add two new ones, named Wentworth and 
Thornton Halls. Taken as a whole, they give the spectator 
an impression of neatness and convenience, creditable to the 
Institution. Some of the first men in the Executive and 
Legislative Departments of our government have here recei- 
ved their classical education. 

By a majority of 4000 votes over Col. Upham, the election 
of 1830 elevated to the Chair the Hon. Matthew Harvey of 
Ilopkinton, who administered the Executive Department of 
the government somewhat less that a year. To fill the vacan- 
cy in the Senate of the United States, soon to be made by the 
expiration of Mr. Woodbury's term of office, the Legislature 
elected the Hon. Isaac Hill of Concord. He had been previ- 
ously nominated by President Jackson to the office of Second 
Comptroller of the Treasury ; but the nomination having been 
rejected by the Senate by a small majority, this election was 
intended both as an approval of his political course, and as an 
expression of political and personal attachment towards the 
President, on the part of the majority of the Legislature. — 
After the expiration of his term in the Senate, Mr. Woodbury 
was appointed Secretary of the Navy. Gov. Harvey having- 
received the appointment of Judge of the United States* 
Court for the district of New-Hampshire, resigned the Chair 



200 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1831. 

in February ; the President of the Senate, Joseph M. Harper, 
officiating of course as Chief Magistrate during the remainder 
of the political year. 

The census of the United States taken at this period, fur- 
nished the gratifying return of a population of almost thirteen 
millions — of whom more than 209,000 were contained in this 
State. Had the actual increase, within the State, for the last 
half century all remained at home, New-Hampshire would 
now exhibit a population literally overflowing: but great num- 
bers of families and young men have emigrated to Maine, 
Massachusetts, Vermont, Canada, New-York, Ohio, Illinois, 
and other places still more remote in "the far West." Where- 
ver they have gone, industry and enterprise have been promi- 
nent traits in their character — hence the well known saying, 
"Give a New-Hampshire boy a bridle, and he will soon find a 
horse." 

General Samuel Dinsmoor of Keene was chosen Governor 
in 1831, by a majority of five thousand over his competitor, 
the Hon. Ichabod Bartlett of Portsmouth, the candidate of the 
party opposed to the administration of Jackson. Though a 
slight anticipation of dates, yet, as preferable to a wearisome 
repetition, the fact may be here noticed that he was re-elected 
the two succeeding years : the last of them with scarce the 
shadow of opposition. 

By far the most extensive religions attention known in the 
State occurred in 1831. Unusual numbers resorted to the 
places of public instruction ; meetings of three or four days 
continuance wereholden in most of the towns, in which chris- 
tian ministers of different denominations united in the religious 
services with great harmony; and the salutary truths of the 
Bible were deeply impressed on a multitude ot minds. The 
accessions to the churches were numerous: the moral aspects 
of society were in many places essentially improved ; and a 
new impulse was given to the cause of christian benevolence. 

For some years, a few Societies of Unitarians had existed 
in the State. The ministers and some of the members of 
these Societies, formed in 1832, "The New-Hampshire Unita- 
rian Association," to meet annually in Concord for the pro- 
motion of their distinctive religious views. At least twelve 
Societies of this denomination, furnished with ministers now 
exist within the limits of the State. 

General Jackson, having been re-elected to the Presidency, 
by a great majority of the electoral votes, including those of 
this State, visited for the first time the northern States, in the 
summer of 1833. Some gentlemen, deputed by the govern- 



1833.] period x.— 1805— 1833. 201 

ment of New-Hampshire, waited on him at Boston and invited 
him to visit Concord. He was met at the State line by the 
the Governor's aids, and at Bow by a Committee of the Leg- 
islature, and escorted to the Capitol. The Governor, Council, 
and both branches of the Legislature having convened in the 
Representatives' Chamber, the President was introduced, 
and welcomed by Gov. Dinsmoor in an affectionate address, in 
the name of the government and people. Some thousands of 
citizens from the various sections of the State resorted to 
Concord on this intersting occason. 

For a few of the last years, small steam boats had occasion- 
ally, but not without 'difficulty, ascended the Connecticut 
river to some distance within the limits of New-Hampshire. 
Not till this period was steam navigation introduced into any 
of our interior lakes. Winnepiseogee is one of the finest 
lakes in New-England, encircled with lofty mountains, indent- 
ed with numerous promontories, and dotted with Islands, 
some of them highly cultivated. On the fourth of July the 
steamer Belknap, so named after the principal historian of the 
State, made an excursion from Alton Bay to Wolfcborough 
Village, and back to Alton ; and on the next day, to Centre 
Harbor. The novelty of a steamboat on these transparent 
waters — the numerous company on board, with a fine band of 
mus i c — the surrounding scenery — the throngs of spectators — 
the anniversary of our national independence — and the an- 
ticipation of future benefits to the vicinage— all conspired to 
impart to the occasion a deep and pleasing interest. 

Near the close of the year, in November, occurred a phe- 
nomenon never before witnessed in this quarter. Soon after 
12 o'clock in the morning of the 13th, the meteors called fall- 
ing stars were observed to be unusually frequent. After 4 o'- 
clock the heavens presented one of the most sublime and 
extraordinary prospects that can be conceived ; imagination 
can hardly picture anything to surpass it. Small bodies of 
surprising brilliancy, apparently as numberless as the stars in 
the firmament, were seen flying in all directions through a 
clear, unclouded sky, leaving long, luminous trains behind. 
Often, one larger and more brilliant than the rest, would 
shoot across the heavens, producing a light similar to a flash 
of lightning. In whatever direction the eye was turned, the 
scene could not be compared more aptly to any thing than a 
shower of fire falling to the earth. Thousands of individu- 
als, scattered over the vast portion of North America stretch- 
in"- from Nova Scotia to Mexico, witnessed the sublime spec- 
tacle. As the light of day advanced, the meteors began to 



202 BISTORT OF NE\f-HAMPSHIRE [1833. 

disappear ; but some were seen as long as the stars were 
visible. 

In many parts of New-Hampshire the state of society will 
bear comparison with that of the most favored portions of 
our land. Though there is within the State, as is remarked 
by Belknap, "a sort of wise men who pretend to reject " the 
christian religion, without being able " to substitute a better in 
its place ;" — yet the great body of the people venerate the 
christian scriptures as a Divine Revelation, and a large num- 
ber are found among the supporters of religious institutions, 
and the regular attendants on Divine worship. Between thir- 
ty and forty thousands are communicants in christian churches 
of different denominations. In point of public education, 
the State ranks above most countries of the globe, and abovo 
all her sister States, with the exception of Massachusetts and 
Connecticut. A venerable and excellent clergyman now 
living, who has done more to promote the interests of educa- 
tion than any other single citizen, has personally prepared for 
admission into the Colleges more that an hundred young men, 
among whom he now sees Governors, Counsellors, Judges 
and Legislators. Female education has attracted much atten- 
tion, and within a few years several Seminaries have been 
ftstablishffl fvrlnsivfily for young ladies, under the superin- 
tendence of Instructresses well accomplished for this depart- 
ment. The sons of New-Hampshire possess their full share 
of influence in our public councils; their voice commands 
respect in the i( listening Senate/' and in the Cabinet Council 
of the Nation. 

A large number of distinguished citizens deceased during 
the period of twenty eight years included in this chapter. — 
The plan of this work will allow little more than a list of 
their names, while a detailed account of their characters 
must be left to Biography, as its proper province. Abiel 
Foster of Canterbury, who died in 1806, was for some years 
the Minister of that town, and after the resignation of his 
pastoral charge was elected to a seat in Congress, which he 
held by re-elections the greater part of a period of twenty 
one years. The esteem and confidence of his cotemporaries 
he possessed in an uncommon degree. In the same year the 
Rev. Dr. Haven, Pastor of the south church in Portsmouth, 
closed a life of almost fourscore years and a Ministry of more 
than half a century. The Rev. Dr. Buckminster, Pastor of 
the north church in the same town, whose death happened a 
few years afterwards, held a high rank as an accomplished 
scholar, an impressive preacher, and a devoted Minister of 



1833.] period x.— 1805.— 1833 203 

Christ. Samuel Hale was graduated at Harvard College in 
the class of 1740. After serving as a Major in the Louisburg 
expedition, he engaged as the Principal of the Latin Grammar 
School in Portsmouth, and labored in that useful vocation 
almost forty years, with distinguished ability, zeal, and effect. 
In his school, at that day famed throughout the land, instruc- 
tion was given to some thousands of pupils, and many young 
men were qualified for important stations. Major Hale, than 
whom few men have done more to form the minds of youth, 
lived to a great age, and died in 1807, leaving a character 
respectable for piety and usefulness. The Hon. Nicholas 
Gilman of Exeter, a brother of Gov. Gilman, and one of tho 
Senators of this State in Congress, died at Philadelphia in 
1814. Exeter lost another of its eminent citizens the next 
year, by the death of Doctor Samuel Tenney, who was highly 
respectable for his medical and scientific attainments, and waa 
for some years a Representative in Congress. In the course 
of the same year died the Hon. Simeon Olcott of Charlestown, 
who had been Chief Justice of the State, and one of its Sena- 
tors in the National Legislature ; and two years afterwards, 
Benjamin West of the same town, a Lawyer of extensive 
practice and high distinction. The Rev. Dr. Morrison, a native 
of Scotland, emigrated to America in early life ; and after 
acquiring a classical and Theological education, became the 
Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Londonderry. His 
amiable manners, ready talents, and pastoral diligence, gave 
him an extensive and merited influence, which he retained 
till his death, in 1818. Early in 1820 died the Rev. Dr. Payson 
of Rindge, well known as an exemplary and excellent minister 
of the gospel, and as the eminent Father of a still more emir 
nent son, the late Rev. Edward Payson of Portland. The same 
year closed the comparatively shoVt. life of the Rev. Francis 
Brown, who was called from his ministry in North-Yarmouth, 
Maine, to the Presidency^of Dartmouth College, and conducted 
its concerns with great wisdom and prudence during the diffi- 
cult period of its contest with the Legislature. Calmness, 
decision, and piety strongly marked his character. Doctor 
Ammi Ruhamah Cutter was a physician of Portsmouth, in 
high esteem and extensive practice for a period of more than 
sixty years. Though he was in habits of intimacy with the 
the royal officers before the revolution, and had been offered 
the appointment of Counsellor, yet his views of duty led him 
to oppose the acts of the British Ministry. He took charge of 
the medical department of the Northern army, and was after- 
wards a member of the Convention which formed the Con- 



204 HISTORY OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE. [1833. 

stitution of the State. The confidence reposed in him by the 
community was great. "Dr. Cutter was a christian ; the last 
act of his life was a prayer uttered the moment previous to 
his dissolution," which occurred in the year last named. Hon. 
Thomas W. Thompson of Concord, a man of talent and worth, 
died in 1821, having been Speaker of the House of Represen- 
tatives of this State, and a Senator in Congress. Some time 
before his death, his health being impaired, he was passing 
over Lake Champlain in a steam boat, which took fire in the 
night and was consumed ; he with others narrowly escaped in 
an open boat, in an inclement season ; and the terrors and 
exposures of that night were thought to have hastened his 
exit. Gen. Michael M'Clary, whose death took place in 1824, 
was of Epsom. For a long time he was a Representative or 
Senator in the Legislature and afterwards Marshal of the 
District of New-Hampshire, and Adjutant General for the 
State. Often was he solicited to give his consent to be put in 
nomination as a candidate for Governor ; but he always de- 
clined. Probably no man in the State possessed a more 
extensive personal influence, and it was said of him that "al- 
though he was the associate of the first in society, no honest 
poor man was too mean to be by him considered as an equal." 
Ezekiel Webster was a brother of the distinguished Daniel 
Webster, and an eminent lawyer of Boscawen. As described 
by an eye witness, the circumstances of his death, which oc- 
curred in 1829, were deeply affecting : "He began an argument 
before the Court of Common Pleas in Concord. I sat directly 
before him. His voice was clear, full, strong. His plea con- 
nected, convincing, powerful. His health apparently good, 
and his whole appearance that of a man in the possession and 
exercise of the noblest powers. He had spoken about twenty 
minutes — when he fell backwards and expired, without a 
struggle or groan. The impression of this instant death was 
awful. Every face was pale ; — every heart trembled ! The 
immortal spirit was gone — and the realities of the invisible 
world seemed in full prospect." 



INDEX. 



Christian names of persons are in most cases supplied where they arc 
omitted in the text. Several names erroneously spelt in the body of the 
#ork have been corrected in the Index. 

QCj-This Index has been made to embrace nearly all the names and the 
most important subjects in the volume, and will be found very useful to in- 
structors in suggesting questions for their pupils. 



Abercrombie, gen. in the French 
War, supersedes the earl of Lou- 
don, 103. — attacks the French 
lines, 103. 

Abercrombie, — minister of Peiham, 
Ms. 94. 

Academy, founded at Exeter, by 
John Phillips, 145. 

Accusations against gov. Belcher, 
82. — against gov. John Went- 
worth, 118. — which prove false, 
83, 118. 

Acworth, settled in part from Lon- 
donderry, 67. 

Adams, Ebenezer, professor of Dart- 
mouth college, removed by new 
trustees, 186. 

Adams, John, president of the U. S. 
167, 168, 169, 170.— death of, 
195. 

Adams, John Quincy, 191, is elec- 
ted president of the U. S. 195. 

Adams, Winborn, licut. col, slain 
at Stillwater, 138. 

Adultery, a capital crime, 16. 

Agiocochook, Indian name of the 
White Mountains, 11. 

Air. la Chapelle, treaty of peace 
at, 93. 

Alarm, in N. Eng. by the Northern 
Lights, 68.— bv the French fleet, 
91. 

Alien ty Sedition laws, 169, 

Allen, Thomas, renews the suit 
against Waldron, 56. 

Allen, Samuel, appointed gov. 47 
comes to N. H. 55. — brings a suit 
against Col. Waldron, 55. — 83. 
heirs of, revive their claim,$*c,157. 



Alstead, planted by people from 
Conn. 109. 

American Board of Commissioners 
for foreign missions, 179. 

American Sunday School Union, 
194. 

Amherst, granted by Me. 74. — set- 
tled, 75. — general court sets at, 76. 

Amoskeag, Mohawks appear at, 30. 

Andros, Edmund, 36. — appointed 
governor of N.E. 40,41. — goes to 
the eastward, 41, 42. — is seized 
imprisoned and sent to England,42. 

Annapolis, 91. 

Anne, queen, succeeds William 
III. 56. 

Antrim, dysentery prevails at, 170. 

Army, American, distress of, 144. 

Articles of Confederation, ratified 
by the States, 139. 

Assembly dissolved by Cranfield, 37. 

Athenceum at Portsmouth, ; ncorpo- 
rated, 190. 

Atherton, Joshua, opposes the adop- 
tion of the Federal Constitution, 
158. 

Atkinson, Theodore, counsellor, 73. 

Atkinson, Theodore, commissioner 
to Canada, 73. — counsellor, 7S. — 
appointed secretary, 85. — one of 
the Masonian proprietors, 89. — 
chief justice of C. C. P. 114. — is 
named, 77, 91, 98, 112, 126, 127. 

Atkinson, George (originally Geo. 
King) president of the convention 
of 1781, 146, 152. 

Aurora Borealis first seen in New- 
England, 68. 

Avalanche, a remarkable one, at the 
Notch of the White Mountains, 167 



106 



INDEX. 



Badger, Joseph, member of the con- 
vention of 1781,146. — member of 
the convention for deciding on the 
federal constitution, 158. 

Baker, captain leads a party against 
the Indians, 70. 

Baker's river, 70. 

Baldwin, captain, killed at Bunker 
Hill, 128. 

Balston, ,194. 

Baltimore, attacked by the Brit- 
ish, 182. 

Baptists, persecuted, 19, 20. — first 
church of, in N. H. 101.— number 
of churches and communicants of, 
101. — Freewill, take their rise in 
1680, 144. — number of communi- 
cants of, 144. 

Barber, Daniel, Roman Catholic 
preacher, 193. 

Barefoot, Walter, deputy collector 
g5. — counsellor, 36. — judge under 
Cranfield, 37. — officiates as gov, 
40.— 41. 

Barnstead, granted, 74. 

Barrington, settled, 67. 

Bartlett,lch., candidate for gov. ,200 

Bartlett, Joeiah, 151.— 158. chos 
en pres. of N. H. Medical Soc, 
163.-dealh of, 165. 

Bartlett, Richard, 197. 

Bachelor, Stephen, first minister of 
Hampton, 14. 

Bath, effects of the flood at, 196 

Baum, col. defeated by Stark and 
mortally wounded, 136, 137. 

Bedel, Timothy, 133. 

Bedford, granted by Ms., 24 

Beers, captain defeated by the In- 
dians, 28. 

Belcher, Jonathan, gov. of N. H. 
and Ms., 76.— 77— 78.— 80.— rep- 
rimanded by the king, 82. — re- 
moval from office, 83. — repairs to 
England and vindicates his char- 
acter, 83. — appointed gov. of N.J. , 
83.— character of, 83. 

Belknap, Jeremy, history of N. H. 
published by, 154.— notice of, 154. 

Belknap, Steamboat, makes her first 
excursion, 201. 

Bell, John, elected gov. of N. H., 
199. — is succeeded by Benjamin 
Pierce, 199. 



Bell, Samuel, Speaker of theHonss 
of Reps., 173.— elected gov., 190. 
chosen Senator in Congress, 193.-- 
retires from the office of gov., 193. 

Bellingham, Richard, gov. of Ms., 
33. 

Bellomont, earl of, gov. of N. Y. 
Ms. and N. H., 54.— visits N.H., 
55. — death of, 55. 

Bellows, Benjamin, 100, 151, 158. 

Bellows' Falls, bridge erected at, 
154. 

Bennington, battle of, 136, 

Berivick, people shiin at, 27. 

Bible Soc, American, formed, 187. 

Bills of credit, emitted, 126. — con- 
tinental, greatly depreciate, 139, 

Blanchard, Jonathan, 151. 

Blanchard, Joseph, commander of a 
regiment, 99. 

Blasphemy, a capital crime, 16. 

Blind Will, perishes on a neck of 
land, which bears his name, 30. 

Blodget, Samuel, 161. 

Blood, Frances, member of the con- 
vention of 1781,146. 

Bloody Point, dispute at, 11. 

Bonaparte, First Consul in France, 
169. 

Boscawen, granted by Ma., 74. — 89. 

Boston, Ms., settled, 15. — massacre 
at, 117. — invested, 125. — evacua- 
ted by the British, 133.— 166.-183. 

Boston Presbytery formed, 94. 

Boundary line between N. H. and 
Ms., attempts to settle, 68, 81. — 
settled by the king and council, 
81.— 82. 

Boundary line between Vt. and 
N. Y., dispute about, 94. — be- 
tween N. H. and Vt., dispute a- 
bout, 141, 142, 143, 148, 149. 

Boio, granted, 74. 

Boioen, Peter, kills Indians at Bos- 
oawen, 97, 98. 

Boylslon, Zabdiel, first practices in- 
oculation, 68. 

Brackett, Adino N., measurement 
of the White Mountains by, 163. 

Brackett, Joshua, pres. of the N . H. 
Medical Society, 174. 

Bradford, capt. 137. 

Bradley, Benjamin, account of, 106. 

Bradley, Jonathan and Sam'l killed 
at Concord, 91. 



INDEX. 



107 



Bradslreet, cob, takes fort Frontc 
nar, 104. 

Bradslreet, Simon, gov. of Ms, 33. 
— death of, 33. — sons of, flee on 
account of witchcraft, 49. 

Brattle, William, minister of Cam- 
bridge, 65. 

Breyman, col., command* the Hes- 
sians, 137. 

Bridgemaii's Fort, burnt, 92. — peo- 
ple killed near, 100. 

Bridgewzter, battle of, 182. 

Brock, John preacher, at Isle of 
Shoals, 131. 

Brocklebank, Sautuel, killed by 
the Indiana, 28, 

Brown, Francis, pros, of Dart, 
college, 116.— 185— death of, 203, 

Brown, gen. defeats the British at 
Sackett'a Harbor, 182. 

Browne, Arthur, minister of Queen's 
chapel, Portsmouth, 79. — death 
of, 123. 

Brunswick, Me., destroyed, 69 

Buckminster, Joseph, minister of 
Portsmouth, death of, 202. 

Bull, Dixey, a noted pirate, 11. 

Bunker Hill, battle of, account of, 
127, 12S. 

Burgoyne, gen., approaches Ticon- 
deroga, 126. — detaches col. Bauin 
against Stark, 136. — surrender 
of, 138. 

Burnet, William, gov ofN. II. and 
Ms., arrived in Boston, 75. — death 
of, 76. 

Burton, 157. 

Buss, John, house of, burnt by the 
Indians, 50. 



Carr, Sir Robert, 23, — instance of 

severity of, 24. 
Carrigain,Phil\p, sec. of slate, 173. 

— map of. N. H. published by, 

184. — appointed to make surveys. 
196. 
Carteret, George, 23. 
Castine, Barron de St., house of, 

plundered by Andros, 42. — notic* 

of, 42. — story of one supposed to 

be of his family, 71. 
Castine, taken possession of by the 

British, 183. 
Centennial celebration, at Ports*- 

mouth, account of, 193. 
Chadbourne, Humphrey, 10. -builds 

the great house, 11 . 
Chamberlain, John, said to have 

killed Paugus, 73. 
Chamberlain, Richard, counsellor, 

36.— sec, 48. 
Champernoon, Francis, 31. 
Champ lain, L:\ke, victory of McDoa» 

ough upon, 182. 
Charles, I., king of England, names 

N.E., 7. 
Charles IF., character of, 22, death 

of, 40. 
Charlestown, 89. — garrison with- 
drawn, 91.— attacked by French 

and Indians, 92. — applies for a 

guard of soldiers, 99, — is visited 

by the Indians, 98, 100. 
Charlestown, Ms. settled in 1629, 

15. 
Cheshire county formed, IIS. 
Chesley, capt., death of, 60. 
Chester, settled, 67. 
Chichester granted, 74. 



Chickatawbut, chief sachem of the 
Calfe, John, sec. of the convention Ms. tribe, 24. 
for deciding on the federal consti- [Chippewa, battle of, 182. 
tution, 15S. — sec. of the conven « ) Chittenden, Thomas, governor of 



tion to revise the constitution, 163. 

Conarfa,expeditioQ against, in 1690, 
46. — expedition against, in 1711, 
61. — plan for the reduction of, S9. 
— conquest of, 106. — invaded by 
the Americans, 134, but is soon 
evacuated, 134. 

Canterbury, granted, 74. 

Carey, Matthew, 194. 

Carr, James, of Pembroke, killed 
by the enemy, 92. — instance of at- 
tachment in his dog, 92. 



Vt., 142. 

Christians, denomination of, makes 
its appearance, 170. 

Church, Bcnj., surprises Philip 
who is killed, 29. — col. of an ex- 
pedition, 58. 

Cilley, Joseph, 135. — a distinguish- 
ed oihcer under Poor, in the rev- 
olutionary war, 1 40.— 151.— makes 
a charge upon the insurgents at 
Exeter, 156.— death of',173. 



20S 



INDEX. 



Claggelt, Wyseman, 113. — member 
of the conventioa of, 1731, 146. 
151. 

Claremont, planted by people from 

Conn., 109. Roman Catholic 

church established at, 193. 

Clay, Henry, can. for pres., 195. 

Clement, Job, counsellor, 34 

Clinton, Dewit, supported in N. II. 
for president, 181. — 196, 

Coffin, Peter, is spared by the Indi- 
ans, 44. son of, surrenders his gar- 
rison, to save tho life of his fath- 
er, 44. 

Colbum, Andrew, lieut. col. slain, 
138. 

Cold, effect of in May, 165S, 22.— 
1816, 183. 

Combination of towns formed, 14. 

Commissioiiers from Charles II., 23 
— visit Portsmouth, 23. 

Commissioners to settle line, meet, 
68, 81. 

Committee of safety, 121, 126, 132, 
136. 

Concord, formerly Penacook, white 
roan killed at, by thelndians,24 
granted and settled, 74. — persons 
killed at, by the Indians,90, 92 — 
convention for forming constitution 
met at, in 1781, 146. made the seat 
of government, 177. 

Concord, Ms., destruction of prop 
erty at, by the British, 125. 

Conferences with the Indians, 58 
62, 65. 

Congress, continental, met at Phila 
delphia, 121. —proceedings of, 121 

Congress of Commissioners,meetat 
Albany, 98. 

Connecticut river, west bunk of, 
fixed as the boundary between 
N. II. and Vt. s 149. 

Connecticut River Company, 196. 
Conner, col. slain, 138. 
Constitution, to continue during the 
war, goes into operation, lo2. — a 
new one drawn up, and rejected in 
1779, 143. — present one goes into 
effect, 152.— is revised in 1792, 
163, 164. 
Constitution of the U.S. formed, 

157. is adopted by N. II , 159. 
Convention for forming a constitu- 



tion, meet at Concord, 145. — pro- 
ceedings of, 147. 

Convention at Exeter, 120, 126.— 
address of, extract from, 127. — 
131. — ■ prepares a plan of govern- 
ment, 132.— meet m 1799, 143. 

Convention for deciding upon the 
federal constitution, 158. 

Convention for revising the consti- 
tution, 164. 

Convention of ministers, formed &c. 
94. 

Conioay, 157. 

Coos county, incorporated, 118.— 
127. 

Cornwallis, surrender of, 148. 

Cotton Factories, erected at differ- 
ent places, 172. 

Cotton, John minister of Hampton, 
death of, 62. 

Cotton, Seaborn, minister of Hamp- 
ton, retires to Boston, 39. — 62. 

Council of Plymouth, 7. 

Counsellors under pres. Cutts,32,34. 

Count Rumford, establishes himself 
at Concord, sketch of, 119. 

Counties, N. H. divided into, 118. 

Court of Associates, 16. 

Cranfield, Edward, appointed lieut. 
gov. and com. -in-chief of the prov- 
ince, 36. — character of, 36. — re- 
models the courts, 37. — arbitrary 
conduct of, 38.— 41. 

Crawford, 197. 

Crawford, William II., candidate 
for pres., 195. 

Crescent, a frigate built at Ports- 
mouth, 167. 

Crown Point,expedition against, 99. 

Crystal Hills, 11. 

Culler, Mannasseh, ascends the 
White [Mountains, 153.— estimates 
their altitude, 153. 

Cutter, Avami R., member of the 
convention of 1781, 146. — death 
of and sketch of, 203. 

Cults, John, pres. of N. H., 32.— 
death of, 36. 

Cuffs, Ursula, killed by the Indians, 
50. 

D 

Dalton, Sam'l, counsellor, 34. 

Daniel, Thomas, counsellor, 32. 

Dartmouth College founded at Han- 
over, 115.— account of, 116,— med- 



INDEX. 



209 



ical department attached to,167. — 
amendment of the charter of, by 
the Legislature, 186, which is re- 
sisted by the trustees, 186, and is 
declared by the S. C. of die U. S., 
to be unconstitutional and void, 
187. — presidents of, 116. 

Dartmouth, earl of, a benefactor of 
Dart. Col., 116. 

Dana Daniel, pres. of Dart, col., 116 

Dark day of 17S0, described, 14-1. 

D'Anvillc, duke of, commits sui- 
cide, 91. 

Dearborn, Henry, an officer under 
gen. Poor, 140. — commander of 
the U. S. forces in the last war, 
ISO. — captures York, 182. 

Deerfield, Ms., destroyed by the In- 
dians, 58. 

Detroit surrendered to the British, 
180. — is recovered, 182. 

Diskaa, baron, mortally wounded, 
182. 

Dinsmoor, Sam'l, candidate for gov. 
is defeated by Woodbury, 193. — 
is chosen gov. in 1831, 200. 

Dorchester settled, 6?. 

Dorchester heights, in Ms., fortifi 
cation on, 133. 

Dover, settled by Edward and Wm. 
Hilton, 8 — grant of, 10. — send 
two reps, to the Court at Boston, 
20. — is attacked by the Indians, 43 

Debeline, a French commander, 92 

Dudley, John, 151. — death and 
character of, 175. 

Dudley, Joseph, apnointed pre3. of 
N. E., 40.— gov. of Ms. and N . H. 
57. — retires to private life at Rox 
bury, 64. 

Dudley, Samuel, minister of Exe- 
ter, 20. 

Dudley, Thomas, gov. of Ms., 33. 

Dummer, Shuhnel, minister of York 
killed by Indians, 47. 

Dunbar, David appointed lieut. gov. 
78. — retires to Me., 80. — returns 
to Eng. and -is imprisoned, &c, 
80 — appointed gov. of St. Helena, 
80, 81 — resigns the office of sur- 
veyor general, 84. 

Dunstable,seuled, 25. — Weld's gar- 
rison in, attacked by die Indians, 
69. 
Du Quesnel, gov. of Louisborg, 86. 



Durham, persons slain in, by the In- 
dians, 27.— man killed at, 28. — 
people slain at, 45. — attacked by 
the Indians, 50. — bridge extend- 
ing to, 166. 

Duston, Mrs. Hannah, story of, 51. 

D wight, travels of cited, 10,96,161. 
— death and notice of, 139. 

Dysentery, prevails, 170. 

■Si 

Eames, capt., fort intrusted to his 
command, 126. 

Earthquakes, remarkable in 1638, 
13.— in 1727, 75.— in 1755, and 
an account of, 101. — in 1761, 
107. 

Eclipse of the sun, total, 176. 

Eliot, John, the apostle of the Indi- 
ans, 19. 

Embargo act passed, 177, repealed, 
177. 

Embury, Philip, a distinguished 
Methodist, 144. 

Emerr.on, Daniel, minister of Hol- 
lis, death of, 174. 

Emerson, John,Berwick,escapes the 
massacre at Dover, 44. 

Emerson, John, minister of Ports- 
mouth, death of, 84. 

Emigration, to N. E. before 1640, 
notice of, 15. 

Endecott, John, gov. of Ms., 21, 33. 

Endecott Rock, notice of, 21. 

English, Joe, a friendly Indian, 
killed, 59. 

English, Philip and wife, notice of, 
53. 

Epsom, granted, 74. 

Evans, John, wounded by the Indi- 
ans, 74. 

Exeter, Indians at, 8. — settled by 
Mr. Wheelwright, 14. — Acade- 
my founded at, 145. — insurgents 
meet at, 156. — general court holds 
its sessions at, 176. 
T 

Family government, 85. 

Farmer, John, edition of Belknap 
prepared by, 154. 

Farrar, Timothy, member of the 
convention of 1781, 145. — one of 
the committee to prepare the con- 
stitution, 147. 
Farwell, lieut., in Lovewell's com- 
pany, perishes, 73. 



210 



INDEX. 



Federalists and Republicans, two 
parties formed, 165. 

Fitch, Jabez,minister of Portsmouth, 
death and nutice of, 107. — 131. 

Fitzwilliam, 137. 

Fletcher, John, surveyor, 157. 

Flood, great in N. II., 196, 197. 

Floyd, capt., attacks the Indians, 46. 

Folsom, Nathaniel, commands a de- 
tachment, 99. — representative to 

congress, 120. 151. — pres. pro 

tem. of the convention of 1783, 
152. 

Forbes, gen., gained fort Du Quesne, 
103. 

Fort Dummer, built, 71.— 3S. 

Fort Du Quesne, expedition against, 
miscarries, 99, — taken by gen. 
Forbes, 103. 

Fort Edward, 99.— 103. 

Fort Front enac, taken, 104. 

Fort Hinsdale, men killed at, 93. 

Fort Niagara, expedition against, 
miscarries, 99. 

Fort on Great Island, 24. 

Fort William Henry, surrenders to 
the French, 102.-massacre at, 103 

Foster, Abiel, chosen representa- 
tive in congress, 160. — death of. 
202. 

Fowle, Daniel, establishes the first 
printing press at Portsmouth, 10 

France, hostile conduct of, 168. — 
treaty concluded with, 169. 

Franklin, Benjamin, remark of. 
123 — opinion of the Age of Iteas 
on, 170,171, 

French fleet, against N. E. destroy- 
ed, 91. against the British, ar- 
rives, 140. 

Frenchtown, massacre at, 1S2. 

Freewill Baptists, (see Baptists.) 

Friend of Peace, a periodical in 
Ms., 1S7. 

Frontiers of N. H., 745, describ- 
ed, 88. 
Frost, George, 151. 

Frost, great, in 1794, effects of, 
165. 

Frye, Jonathan, chaplain of Love 
well's company, perishes, 73. 

Fryeburg , Me., the scene of Love 
well's fight, 72. 

Fryer, Nathaniel, 31. 

Furs, trade in, 8. 



a 

Gage, gen. Thomas, 121. 

Gates, Horatio, army of, increased 
by volunteers, 138. 

General Court of Ms. meet in sep- 
arate apartments, 17. 

George I., death of, 73. 

George II., succeeds Geo. I. 75. 

Gerrish, Sarah, story of, 44, 45. 

Gibbons, and Pepperell, anecdote 
of, 131. 

Gibbons, Ambrose, 10. — 12. — assis- 
tant magistrate, 14. — magistrate 
nt Portsmouth, 16. 

Gibson, Richard, episcopal minister, 
at Portsmouth, 14. 

Gilman, John, counsellor, 33. — sus- 
pended, 37. 

Gilman, John Taylor, reads the dec- 
laration of independence, 134.-— 
151. — member of the convention 
for deciding on the federal consti- 
tution, 158. — chosen gov. 165. — 
is succeeded by John Langdon, 
172. — candidate for gov., 178. — 
again elected gov., 181. — 183. — 
takes his final leave of public life, 
185. 

Gilman, Nicholas, 151. — treasurer 
of the State, 173. 

Gilman, Nicholas, delegate to the 
convention for forming the federal 
constitution, 157. — chosen rep. to 
congress, 160.— death of, 203. 

Gilman, Peter, commands a second 
regiment from N. II., 99. 

Gilmanton, grained, 74. 

Goddard, Edward, member of the 
convention of 1781, and one of the 
committee for framing die consti- 
tution, 147. 

Godfrey, Edward, 10, 11. 

Goffe, John, commands troops to 
fort William Henry, 102. — regi- 
ment commanded by, 106. — cuts a 
new road from 0harles.town to 
Crown Point, 106. 

Gordon, William, attorney general, 
death of, 174. 

Gorges, Sir Ferdinando, 7. 

Grafton county formed, 118. 

Great Island, battery on, seized, 127. 

Green Mountain Boys, 111. 

Gregg, William, col. in Bennington 
battle, 137. 



INDEX. 



211 



H 

Hale, col., commands a regiment to 
Ticonderoga, 135 — taken prisoner 
by Burgoyne, 136. 

Hale, col., of Rindge, imprisoned, 

148 builds bridge at Bellows' 

Falls, 154. 
Sale, Samuel, a noted instructor, 

death of, 203. 
Hale, William, candidate for gov., 

190. 
Hampton settled, 14. 
Hancock, dysentery at, 170. 
Hanover, planted by people from 

Conn., 109 — college founded at, 

115 — cannon at Bunker Hill, heard 

at, 129. 
Harman, capt., 70. — 71. 
Harper, Joseph M. pres. of the 

senate, officiates as gov., 200 
Harrison, gen., defeats the British 

at Detroit, 182. 
Hartford, Conn., settled in 1635 

15. 
Hartford Convention, 183. 
Harvard college, contributions ii 

N. H. to erect a new edifice for 

25-Mr.Moodey elected pres. of,52 
Harvey, Matthew, chosen gov. 199. — 

is appointed judge, and resi 

the office of gov., 199. 
Haven, Nathaniel A., delivers an 

oration at Portsmouth, 193. 
Haven, Samuel, minister of Ports 

mouth, death of, 202. 
Haverhill, 97 — cannon at Bunker 

Hill, heard at, 129. 
Haviland, col., 106. 
Hazzen, Richard, 82. 
Heard, Elizabeth, story of, 44. 
Hebron, 157. 

Hendricks, an Indian chief, 99. 
Hill, Isaac, chosen senator to Con- 
gress, 199. 
Hillsboi^ough, granted by Ms., 74 — 

deserted, 90. 
Hillsborough county formed, 118. 
^Hilton, Edward, settles at Dover 

Neck, 8 — appointed magistrate for 
Dover, 16* — death of, 25. 
Hilton, William, settles at Dover 

Neck, 8. 
Hilton, Winthrop, expedition led 
by, 58 — several expeditions led by, 

" 58, 59, 60, 61— death of, 61 



Hinckes, John, counsellor, 40 — sus- 
pended by Usher, 51— is chief mag- 
istrate, 52 — issues proclamation, 
52— chief justice of N. H., 55. 

Hinsdale, settled, 39-89— 92— men 
killed at, 93— attacked, 100. 

Hobbs, capt. , 93. 

Hodgkins, sachem of Penacook, 43. 

Holder ness, 157. 

Holland, Samuel, prepares map of 
N. H., 119. 

Ho His, settled, 75. 

Hoophood, an Indian chief, attack*) 
Newington, 46. 

Hopkinton, granted by Ms., 74 — 
eight persons captured at, 90— ef- 
forts made to make seat of govern- 
ment, 176. 

Horton, a British officer, conducts 
a body of Canadian Indians into 
N. II.', 144. 

House, col., 145. 

Howe, Jemima, taken captive, 10O— 
sketch of, 101. 

Howe, lord, slain, 103. 

Hubbard, Henry, speaker of the 
House of Reps., 195. 

Hull, gen., surrender of, at Detroit, 
ISO. 

Huske, Ellis, counsellor, 114. 

Hussey, Christopher, counsellor, 33. 

Idolatry, a capital crime, 16. 

Immigrants, classes of, in N. H., 
7") — from Conn., plant a number 
of towns, 109. 

Independence of the US. declared, 
134 — declaration of, read at Exe- 
ter by John T. Gilman, 134— is 
published in the several counties 
with the beat of drum, 135. 

Indians, names of tribes inN.H.,8 — 
efforts to civilize, 18— was with, 31, 
13— ,25-29,41, 57,72-peace with, 
31, 74, 93— complaints of, against 
the English, 42— attack Dover, 43 
— make an attack on Rye, 47 — 
a' tack Durham, 50— conferences 
with, 58, 62, 65— are attacked by 
capt. Baker, 70— by capt. Love- 
well, 72--attack the fort at Charles- 
towii, 92— character of, 93 — buca 
Bridgeman's Fort, 92— a party of, 
attack Shelburne, 147. 

Insurrection at Exeter, 156. 



212 



INDEX. 



Invasion of N. E. by the French 

intended, 91. 
Isles of Shoals, 130. 
J 

Jackson, Andrew, commands at 



Kittrcdge, Jonathan, Temperance 

address of, 198. 
Knowles, Sir Charles, presents a 

sword to capt. Stevens, 92. 



New Orleans, 184— candidate for Laconia Company, 7, 152 



pres. in 1824, 195 — 'u elected in 
1828, 199— visits N, E., 200— re- 
ception of in N. H., 201. 

Jackson, Clement, death and char- 
acter of, 173. 

Jackson, Hall, death of, 173. 



Ladd, Daniel, company under, ar- 
rives at Concord, 91. 

Lafayette visits the U. S., 191— 
account of his reception at Con- 
cord, 191. 

Lake Erie, battle on, 182. 



Jaffrey, George, one cf the Masoni- Lake IVinnepiseogee, 27, 45, 72, 
an proprietors, 89— pres. of the 91, 114, 201. 
council, 114 — death of, — 108. Langdon, John, with Sullivan,seizea 

the fort, 122 — chosen delegate to 
Congress, 122 — speaker of the 
house of reps., 136 — president of 
convention of delegates, 143-151 — 
chosen president of N. H., 155— 
delegate to the convention for 
forming the federal Constitution, 
157 — delegate to the convention 
for deciding on its adoption, 158 
— again chosen president of N.H., 
160 — elected senator in Congress, 
160 — opposes the ratification of 
Jay's treaty, 166 — candidate for 
governor, 169 — elected governor, 
172 — is succeeded by gov. Smith, 
178 — again elected governor, 178 
— retires to private life, 178. 
exploits of, Langdon, Samuel, 87— death of, 
173. 



James II., 40, 42. 

Ja>fs treaty, encounters much oppo- 
sition, 166— ratified by Washing- 
ton, 167. 

Jefferson, Thomas, candidate for 
the presidency in 1796, 167 — is' 
elected by the House of Reps, in 
1801, 170— declines a third elec-i 
tion, 177 — succeeded by James 
Madison, 177— 195-death of, 195. 

Johnson, James, and family taken 
prisoners, 9S. 

Johnson, gen., with gen. Lyman, 
leads an expedition against Crown 
Point, 99. 

Jones, Esther, anecdote of, 62. 

Jones, John Paul, sails from Ports- 
mouth, 140 — darin 
140. 



Jones, Abner, founder of the sect of Langdon, Woodbury, a patriot of 



Christians, 169 

Judiciary, act of 1813, repealed, 
185. 

22 

Keene, granted by Ms., 74 — settled, 
75 — persons killed at, by the Indi- 
ans, 89 — court at, disturbed, 149. 

Kennebeck river, 7. 

Kidd capt., and other pirates, taken, 
sent to England and executed, 55. 

Kilburn, John, successfully defends 
his garrison, 100. 

Kimball Union Academy, notice of, 
181. 

Kimball, Daniel, founder of the 
academy incorp. by his name, 181. 

King, Rufus, candidate for pres., 
189. 

Kingston settled, 49. 

Kittery, early settlers at, 8. 



the revolution, 151. 
Lebanon, planted by people from 

Conn., 109. 
Lee, Jesse, introduces Methodism 

into N. E., 164— visits N. H., 

164. 
Lempster, 109. 
Legislature, places of its holdiDg 

sessions, 175. 
Leverett, John, governor of Mass., 

33. 
Leveridg&, William, minister of 

Dover, 12. 
Lexington, battle of, 125. 
Linen, manufacture of, by the first 

settlers of Londonderry, 67. 
Litchfield, settled, 67. 
Literary fund, avails of, 192. 
Little Harbor, settlement at, 8— 

salt manufactured at, 8. 



INDEX. 



213 



Livermnre, Samuel, principally 
draughts a new constitution, 143, 
151 — in favor of the federal con- 
constitution, 15S — chosen repre- 
sentative in Congress, 160 — presi- 
dent of the convention to revise 
the constitution, 164 — senator in 
Congress, 160 — in favor of Jay's 
treaty, 166— death of, 174. 

Livius, Peter, goes to England and 
accuses gov. Went worth, 118. 

Londonderry settled, 66 — first set- 
tlers of, introduce the culture of 
potatoes, 67. 

Lord, Nathan, president of Dart 
mouth college, 116 — obtains sub 
ecriptions for the college, 199. 

Lothrop, Thomas, surprized and 
slain by the Indians, 28. 

Loudon, earl of, has the chief mi 
tary command in America, 101 — 
is superseded, 103. 

Louisburg, plans for the capture 
of, proposed by William Vaughan 
86— is taken, 87. 



Loveioell, John. 69 — expeditions of,' 
against the Indians, 72 — death of, 
72. 

LoveweWs war, 72. 

Lovevfell, Zaccbeus, takes part in' 



eettlers and minister of London- 
derry, 66. 

McNeil, John, 67 — a distinguished 
officer in the late war, ISO, 192. 

Madison, James, elected president, 
777, 181 — succeeded by James 
Monroe, 189. 

Madokawando, 42. 

Maid's Tree, affecting «tory con- 
nected with, 118. 

Maine, early settlers in, 8 — a&aad 
by Gorges, 10. 

Manztealing, a capital crime, 16. 

Marlborough, 157. 

Marlow, 109. 

Mcrtyn, Richard, counsellor, 32— 
suspended by danfield, 36, 37. 

Mason, John and Robert, 41. 

Mason, John, 7 — obtains a patent 
of N. H., 10, 12— death and 
character of, 13 — widow of, sends 
agent to N. II., 14 — widow of, 
neglects and looses her goods and 
effects in N. II., IS. 

\Mason, Robert, endeavors to estab- 



lish his claim to N. H., 23 — makes 
a second attempt, 31 — comes to 
N. II. claiming a seat in the coun- 
cil, 35 — returns to England, 35, 
36 — chancellor, 37— death of, 41. 



reducing Ticonderoga, 104. 



■ lilasonian proprietors, 157— names 



Lyman, lieut., attacks the Indians 

58. 
Lyman, gen., with Johnson, leads 

an expedition against Crown 

Point, 99. 
Lyme, planted by people from Conn., 

109. 

ss 

McClary, Andrew, killed at Bunker 

Hill, i2s: 

McClary, John, a patriot of the 

revolution, 151. 
McClary, Michael, adjutant general, 

death and character of, 204. \Merrimack 

Macclintock, Samuel, preaches elec-| 118. 

tion sermon in 1784, 153 — death 'Merrimack river 

of, 174. iMesandowit, lod 

McDonough, commodore, defeats house, 43 



of, 

Mason's Hall, first house erected 
in N. II., 8. 

Massachusetts, receives N. IT. un- 
der its government, 15. 

Mather, Cotton, recommsndi icocn- 
lation, 68. 

Mather, Increase, goes to England, 

41 • 

Maud, Daniel, first settled minister 

of Dover, 20. 
Maverick, Samuel, 23. 
Mayhew, Thomas, 18, 31. 



county, incorporated, 



;es in 



Wa'dron'o 



the British on Lake Champlain 

182. 
McGregore, David, minister of 

Londonderry, 67, 94: — death of, 

151. 
MacGregore, James, one of the first 



Mescrve, George, appointed stamp 

distributor in N. II., 112 — resign3 

his commission, 113. 
Meserve, Nathaniel, a masonian 

proprietor, 89 — commands a N. 

H, regiment, 101. 



1U 



INDEX. 



Meteors, remarkable exhibition of, 
201. 

Methodism introduced into Ameri- 
ca. 164. 



2? 
Nash and Sawyer, discover tbe 
Notch of the White Mountains, 
118. 



Middlesex canal, commenced, 160. \ Nashua, two men taken at, 71. 
Miller, James, 67— an officer in the Neal, Walter, superintendent at 

Portsmouth, 10 — resides at Little 
Harbor, 11 — returns to England, 
12. 
Nesmond, marquis, sails from 

France for N. E., 51. 
New-Boston, granted by Mass, 74. 



late war, ISO, 1S2 

Militia,o(N. H., re-organized, 126- 
sixteen companies of, from N. H. 
inarch to Cambridge, 133. 

Minas, engagement at, 92. 

Ministers, convention of, formed, 
94. 

Mitchel, George, 82. 

Moffat, John, a masonian proprie- 
tor, 89. 



Newbury, Vt., 97. 
New-Castle, is incorporated, 49. 
Newcomb, Daniel, member of the 
convention of 1781, 146. 



Mohawks, endeavor by Philip to j New-England, named by Charles 
enlist in the war, 26— are seen at X.,7 — confederation of colonies of, 



Amoskeag, 40 

Monroe, James, elected president 
and visits N. E., 1S9 — incident in 
connection with, at Hanover, 190— 
re-elected president, 191. 

Montcalm, marquis de, commands 
the French army, 102 — invests fort 
William Henry, 102. 

Montreal, attacked by gen. Wilkin- 
son, 182. 

Moocley, Joshua, ordained at Ports- 
mouth, 23— opens N. H. legisla- 
ture at its first meeting with prayer 
and an election sermon, 34 — per- 
secuted by Craafield, 38— impris- 
onment of, preacher at Boston 
and returns to Portsmouth, 39 — 
death and character of, 52, 53. 

Moodey, Bettv, anecdote of, 130. 

Moore, Jacob B., 197. 

Moore, Samuel, colonel in the Lou- 
isburg expedition, 87 — masonian 
proprietor, 83. 

Moorhead, John, 94. 

Morals, state of, .in 1644, 19, 20. 

Morril, David Lawrence, senator 



17. 

Neio- Hampshire, patent of, granted 
to John Mason, 7, 10 — settled io 
1623, 7— population of in 1641, 
15 — united with Mass. 15 — char- 
acter of first settlers »f, 20 — be- 
comes a royal province, 32 — popu- 
lation of in 1680, 35— is a second 
time united with Mass., 42 — popu- 
lation of in 1702, 57 — population 
of in 1730, 77 — connected with 
Mass., under the same governor, 
more than forty years, 83 — has a 
separate governor, 83 — population 
of in 1749, 94 — raises troops in 
the French war, 101, 102 — num- 
ber of ministers, lawyers, and 
justices in 1768, 115 — divided in- 
to counties, 118 — the ninth State 
which ratifies the federal constitu- 
tion, 159 — population according 
to U. S. census, 161, 170, 191, 
200. 

New-Hampshire Bank, 163. 

New-Hampshire Baptist Missionary 
Society, .171. 



to Congress, is chosen governor by I New-Hampshire Bible Society, no- 

the legislature, 194, 195 — is sue- tice of, 179. 

ceeilcd by Benjamin Pierce, 198. I New-Hampshire Gazette, cemmen- 



Morrison, William, minister of 
Londonderry, death of, 203. 

Morton, Thomas, sent prisoner to 
England, 89. 

Moulton, captain, 70, 71. 

Moultonborough, 161. 

Murray, John, preachel Unirersal- 
ism in N. II., 119. 



ces, 102. 

New-Hampshire Grants, contro- 
versy respecting, 111. 

New-Hampshire Historical Socie- 
ty, 194. 

New-Hampshire Medical Society, 
163. 



INDEX. 



215 



Neio-Hampshire Missionary Socie-I 

ty, 171. 
New-Hampton Academy, notice of, 1 

196. 
New-Haven scaled, 115. 
Newington, attacked by Hoophood, 

46, 166. 
New-London, 157. 
New-Orleans, battle of, 183, 184. 
Newport, II. I., meditated attack 

upon, 140. 
Nichols, Moses, col., in Bennington 

battle, 137. 
Nichols, Richard, commissioner of 

Charles II., 23. 
Nicholson, Francis, governor, makes 

Mrs. DustOn a present, 51. 
Nil despcrandum Christo duee, 

motto given bv Mr. Whitefield for 

a flag, 87. 
Norfolk, county of, 17. 
Norridgewock, expedition against, 

59 — attack upon, 70. 
Northam, former name of Dover, S. 
Northumberland, 126. 
Norton, Francis, agent of widow 

Mason, 14, 18. 
Notch of the White Mountains, dis- 
covered, 118. 
Nottingham, settled, 67, 92. 
Nova-Scotia, expedition against 

succeeds, 99 — emigration to, 107 
Number Four, name changed to 

Charlestown, 92. 
O 

Occum, a Mohegan Indian, a preach- 
er, 116. 

Odiorne, Jotham, a masonian pro- 
prietor, 89 — judge of superior 

court, 114. 
Odiorne's point, at Little Harbor. 

6eltled by David Thompson, 8. 
Ohio Fever, 189. 
Olcott, Mills, member of Hartford 

convention, 183. 
Olcott, Simeon, senator in Congress, 

death of, 203. 
Omens, regarded, 31. 
Orange, 157. 
Orford, planted by people from 

Conn., 109. 
Ossipee Lake, 27, 30, 72. 
Ossipees, tribe of Indians, 8, 26 

40, 43. 



Packer, Thomas, death of, 84. 

Packer, Thomas, one cf the maso- 
nian proprietors, 89 — sheriff, 114 
—death of, 123. 

Page, William, 161. 

Paine, Thomas, 170. 

Paper money, vote against the issue 
of, 156. 

Parker, Abel, opposes the federal 
constitution, 158. 

Par I; hurst, Phinehas, wounded by 
the Indians, 145. 

Parliament of (ireat Britain, im- 
poses a stamp duly on the colonies, 
112 — repeals the stamp act, 113 — 
imposes duties on glass, paper, 
paints, and tea, 115 — new acts of 
oppression of, 123. 

Pan is, Ferdinando John, solicitor 
for Thomlinson, 79. 

Partridge, Alden, calculates the 
height of the White Mountains, 
153. 

Partridge, William,appointedlieut. 
governor, 52. 

Puscataquu river, 7 — bridges built 
across, 166, 193. 

Passaconaway, sachem of (he Pena- 
cook Indians, and head of the 
Pawtuckets, 8 — seizure of son of, 
17 — makes his farewell address, 
23. 

Patten, Matthew, 151. 

Paugus, Indian chief, killed, 72. 

Pawtuckets, confederacy of Indians, 
8. 

Payson, Seth, minister of Rindge, 
death of, 203. 

Peabody, Nathaniel, member of the 
convention of 1781, and one of 
the committee for framing the con- 
stitution, 146, 151. 

Peabody, Oliver W. B., delivers 
poem at Portsmouth, 193. 

Peabody, Oliver, state treasurer, is 
succeeded by Nathaniel Gilman, 
173. 

Peace, with the Indians, 31— with 
the French and Indians, 53 — with 
the Indians, 74 — between England 
and France, 93 — between England 
and France, 107 — between the U. 
S. and England, concluded at 
Paris in 1782, 150— between the 



216 



INDEX. 



U. S. and England, 184. 

Peace Society, American, formed, 
188— notice of, 188. 

Pearl, , of Dover, killed, 60. 

Pearson, Joseph, secretary of state, 
is succeeded by Philip Carrigain, 
173. 

Peirce, Daniel, death of, 123. 

Peirce, John, 157, 166. 

Peirce, Joshua, counsellor, 7S — ma- 
sonian proprietor, 89. 

Pelham, settled, 67. 

Pembroke, granted, 74, 92. 

Penacook, now Concord, 45. 

Penacooks, tribe of Indians, 8, 26, 
30, 40, 43, 58. 

Penhalloio, John, 69. 

Penhallow, Samuel, counsellor, is 
suspended by Vaughan, 64 — death 
of, 84 

Penobscot Bay, 183. 

Pepperell and Gibbons, anecdote 
of, 131. 

Pepperell, William, commander at 
the taking of Louisburg, 87, 95. 

Pequawkets, tribe of Indians, 8, 
26, 43, 58, 72. 

Pequot ivar, 13. 

Perjury, a capital crime, 16. 

Perry, commodore, captures British 
equadron on Lake Erie, 182. 

Peterborough, granted by Mass., 
74. 

Philip, sachem of the Wampanoags, 
instigates a war against the colo- 
nies, 25 — sketch of his war, 25, 
29 — is killed by a friendly Indian, 
29. 

Phillips, John, founder of Exeter' 
Academy, sketch of, 146. 

Phips, William, commands a force' 
for Canada, 46 — notice of, 48 — 
lady of, accused of witchcraft, 49. 

Pickering, John, forcibly takes re- 
cords, 48. 

Pickering, John, member of the 
convention and one of the com- 
mittee for forming the constitution, 
146, 147, 151, 152— in favor of 
the federal constitution, 158 — is 
appointed chief justice of the S.l 
C, 161 — president pro ton. of 
the convention to revise the con- 
stitution, 164 — death and notice 
of, 174. 



Pickering, Thomas, with Sullivan 
and Langdon, seizes the fort, 122. 

Pierce, Benjamin, leads the soldiera 
of the revolution on Lafayette's 
visit, 195— elected governor, 198— 
is succeeded by John Bell, 199— 
again elected governor, 199. 

Pike, John, minister of Dover, death 
of, 62. 

Pinckney, Charles C, receives the 
votes of N. H. for president, 
172 — candidate for president, 177. 

Pitcairn, major, commands the 
British at Lexington, 125. 

Pitt, William, placed at the head 
of affairs in England, 103. 

Plainfield, planted by people from 
Conn., 1C9. 

Plains of Abraham, battle of, 104. 

Plaisted, Roger, killed, 27. 

Plan of government, prepared by 
the convention at Exeter, describ- 
ed, 132. 

Platisburg, battle of, 182. 

Plausawa, an Indian, killed in Bos- 



caw in 



97. 



Plumer, William, is elected gov- 
ernor, 178 succeeded by gov. 

Gilman, 181 — again elected gov- 
ernor, 185 — declines re-election, 
and is succeeded by Samuel Bell, 
190. 

Plymouth, cannon at Bunker Hill 
heard at, 129, 157. 

Poor, Enoch, commands a regiment, 
126 — commands a brigade to Ti- 
conderoga, 136, 137--- death of, 
145, 151. 

Population, increase of in the U. S., 
15— of N. H. in 16S0, 35— in 
1702, 57— in 1730, 77— in 1749, 
94— divisions of, 110— of U. S., 
123— of N. H. in 1790, 161— of 
the U. S. and N. II. in 1801, 
170— of N. H. in 1820, 191— of 
N. H. and U. S. in 1830, 200. 

Portland, treaty with Indians at, 
93— conflagration of, 129, 183. 

Port-Royal, expedition against, 60. 

Portsmouth, charter of obtained, 
10 — called Strawberry Bank 30 
years, 18 — people killed at, 50 — 
Universalist church founded at, 
119, 165— yellow fever at, 168— 
society of christians formed at, 



INDEX. 



217 



170 — great fire at, 171 — great fire 
at, 182-183 — Athena?um, 190. 

Post-Office established in 1\. H.,49. 

Potatoes, culture of introduced by the 
first settlers of Londonderry, 67. 

Pou;der,exportation of prohibited by 
the king, 122 — one hundred barrels 
seized, 122. 

Powers, Walter, first Baptist minis- 
ter in N. H., 101. 

Prentice, John, speaker of die House 
of Reps., 172, 

Prinet 'on, battle of, 135. 

Providence settled, 15. 

Provost, general, defeated at Platts- 
burg, 182. 

Q. 

Quakers persecuted, 19, 20 — enact- 
ments against, 21 — society of, form- 
ed at Seabrook, 56. 

Quebec, expedition against, 46 — ex- 
j>< ition against, 61 — taken, 104, 
134. 

Queen's chapel, Portsmouth, (now 
St. John's Cl/urch,) 79. 
R 

Raikcs, Robert, founder of Sabbath 
Schools, 194. 

Ralle, Sebastian, account of, 69 — 
taken and killed, 70, 71. 

Randall, Benjamin, founder of the 
Freewill Baptists, 144. 

Randolph, Edward, comes to N. H., 
31 — returns to England, 32 — brings 
commission for the new govern- 
ment, 34 — appointed surveyor and 
collector of the istoms, 35 — attor- 
ney gen< r il, 3 11 . 

Rangers, c 1,103 — suf- 

ferings of, 105, 106. 

Refugees,estnU ;s of, confiscated, 140. 

Reid, George, 67. 

Reid, James, colonel in the revolu- 
tion, 125, 143, 151. 

Religion, revivals of, &c, 171 — in 
N. 11., 191. 

Republicans and Federalists, two 
great parties formed, 165. 

Revenue of N. H.,78. 

Revolution in Boston, 16S9, 42 — 
American, commences, 125. 

Rindge, 157. 

Rindge, John, agent of N. H., 79 — 
death of, 84. 



Riot at Exeter and Hampton, 37, 38. 

Rochester, 89 — Indian hostilities at, 
90, 92. 

Rockingham county formed, 119. 

Rogers, Nathaniel, minister of Ports- 
mouth, death of, 84. 

Rogers, Robert, tortured to death, 
46. 

Rogers, Robert, commands the rang- 
ers, 101 — author of a journal, 102 
— with his rangers, successfully at- 
tacks the St. Francis Indians, 105. 

Rolfe, Benjamin, minister of Haver- 

i hill, Ms., killed, 60. 

Roman Catholic Church established 
at Claremont, 193. 

Rosebrook, a resident near the Notch 
of the White Mountains, 161. 

Rowlandson, Mary, taken by the 
Indians, 28. 

Roiols, an Indian chief, 8. 

Royalton, Vt., burnt by the Indians, 
144. 

Rumney, 97. 

Rush, Benjamin, 194. 

Rye, people killed at, 47. 
S 

Sabatis, an Indian, killed at Bos- 
cavven, 97. 

Sabbath guarded by law from vio- 
lation, 16. 

SacketVs Harbor, British defeated 
at, 182. 

Saco, early settlers at, 8. 

St. Francis, Indians, 97 — surprised, 
their village burnt, and two hun- 
dred slain, by a detatchment of 
rangers under Major Rogers, 105. 

Salem, Ms. settled in 1628, 15—166. 

Salisbury first experiences the suf- 
ferings of invasion in the war of 
1755, 98. 

Sandeman, Robert, comes to Amer- 
ica, 111. 

Sandemanians, society of, formed at 
Portsmouth, 111. 

Sandwich, 157. 

Saratoga, 137. 

Sawyer and Nash discover the Notch 
of the White Mountains, 118. 

Scammell, Alexander, commands a 
regiment to Ticonderoga, 135, 145 
—death of, 148, 151, 



218 



INDEX. 



Scarborough frigate, tne crew of, 
dismantle fort at Portsmouth, 127, 
129. 
Scarcity, effects of, 12. 
Schools, common, system of, begun, 
IS— progress of, 162 — amount an- 
nually raised 10 support, 163. 
Seabrook, Quakers at, 56. 
Sergeant, John, conceives the plan 
of an Indian School, 115. 

Sewall, Jonathan M., secretary of 
t 1 convention of 1781, 146 — 152, 

Shackford, captain, pursues the In- 
dians, 50. 

Shakers first appear in N. H., and 
establish themselves at Canterbury 
and Enfield, 150. 

Shapleigh, Major, 31. 

Shays, Daniel, insurrection headed 
by, 155. 

Sheafe, James, candidate for gov- 
ernor, 185. 

Shelburne invaded by the Indians, 
147. 

Shepard, Amos, president of the 
Senate, 172. 

Sherburne, John S., wounded, 141 

Sherburne, Henry, 98 — counsellor, 
114 — death and notice of, 123. 

Sherburne, Major, slain, in battle, 
139. 

Sherlock, shei iff under Cranfield,37. 

Shirley, William, gov. of Ms. ,86. 

Shurticff, Roswell, professor at Dart- 
mouth college, removed by new 
trustees, 186. 

Shutc, Samuel, appointed governor 
of Ms. and N. H. 64— displaces 
six counsellors, 64 — dissolves the 
assembly, 64 — controversy between 
and Vaughan, 64 — returns to Eng- 
land, 70. 

Slavery, instance of, 19. 

Small pox prevails, 48 — innocula- 
tion introduced, 68, 134, 135. 

Smith, Dr. Nathan, notice of, 167, 
16S. 

Smith, Jeremiah, elected governor, 
178 — notice of, 178 — succeeded by 
Langdon, 178 — chief justice, 181. 

Smith, John, explores t! N. E. 
coast, 7 — name of, given the 
Isle of Shoals, 130. 

Snows, great, 45, 171. 



Social Friends Society, 186. 
Solley, Samuel, counsellor, 11*4. 
So7nersworth, persons slain at, 26. 
Spotted Fever rages, 1S4. 
Squando, an Indian sachem, 26. 
Stamp act passed, 112 — effects of 
on the colonies, 112 — repeal of, 
113. 
Slandish, Miles, takes Morton pris- 
oner, 9. 
Star Island, 130. 

Stark, John, 67 — taken prisoner by 
the Indians, carried to Canada, 
and is redeemed by Capt. Stevens, 
97 — commands a company of ran- 
gers, 101 — engages in revolutiona- 
ry war, 123, 135 — commands a 
brigade, 136 — collects troops at 
Bennington, 136. — defeats Colonel 
Baum at Bennington, 137 — is ap- 
pointed brigadier general by Con- 
gress, 138 — extract of a letter from, 
145, 151— death and sketch of, 192. 
Stark, William, commands a com- 

panv of rangers, 101. 
State House built, 190. 
Slate Prison built, 179. 
State, term of comes into use, 135. 
Stevens, Phinebas, sent to occupy 
fort at Charles town, 90 — brave de- 
fence of fort at Charlestown, 92, 
97 — goes to Canada to redeem cap- 
tives, 97. 
Stewartstown, 126. 
Stickney, Thomas, colonel in Ben- 
nington battle, 137. 
Stileman, El ias, counsellor, 34,36. 
Stillwater, battle of, 138. 
Stoddard, 157. 
Storer, Clement, is chosen president 

of ihe Senate, 172. 
Storm, great, 185. 
Strafford county formed 118. 
Strawberry Bank, part of Portsmouth y 
7 — becomes the seat of business, 
10 — name changed to Portsmouth, 
21. 
Sullivan county incorporated, 118. 
Sullivan, John, chosen representa- 
tative to the first congress, 120 — 
122-is sent to Portsmouth by Wash- 
ington, 129 — goes to Quebec, 134 
— takes the chief command in the 
Canadaexpedition, 134, 135 — coin- 



INDEX. 



219 



mands at Now port, R. I., 140-com 
mands an expedition against the In 
dians, 133-retires from bhe service 
141 — member of the convention of 
1781, 146 — secretary pro tela, of 
the convention, 147, 151 — chosen 
president of N. II., 155 — in favor 
of the federal constitution, 158 — 
president of the convention for de- 
ciding on the federal constitution, 
158 — is again elected president, 
ICO — appointed judge of the U. S. 
district court, 101 — death of, 173. 

Sunapee Lake, 1">7, 191. 

Sunday School Union of X. II. 19 I. 

Superior Court of Judicature abol- 
ished, 181. 

Supreme Judicial Court created, 181. 

Swanzey granted by Ms., 74 — set- 
tled, 75, 89. 

Swanzey, Ms., attacked by Philip, 
26. 

Synod of N. E., 94. 
T 

Tar manufactured, 65. 

Task, Thomas, commands a rein- 
forcement, 103. 

Tea, duty on, 115 — cargoes of, land- 
ed at Portsmouth, 120 — destroyed 
at Boston, 120. 

Temperance Society, 198. 

Temple, 161. 

Temple, Sir Thomas, anecdote of, 
22. 

Tender Act passed, 155. 

Tenney, Samuel, representative in 
Congress, death of, 203. 

Test Act, dispensed with, in favor 
of N. H., 15. 

The Cedars, 134. 

Therouet, an Indian sachem, notice 
of, 107. 

Thomas, general, death of, 134. 

Thomlinson, John, agent of N. II., 
79, 80. 

Thompson, Benjamin, (see Count 
Rum ford.) 

Thompson, David, settled at Little 
Harbor, 8. 

Thompson, Ebenezer, 151. 

Thompson, general, captured, 134 — 
death of, 134. 

Thompson, Thomas W., senator in 
Congress, death of, 204. 



Thornton, Matthew, president of 
convention of delegates, 1 26, 132— 
signer of declaration of independ- 
ence, 135, 151 — deal! and notice 
of, 174. 

Thornton's Ferry, party of English 
killed near, 71. 

Throat Distemper, prevalence of, 
7.9, 80. 

Ticonderoga, attacked, 103, 134 — 
evacuated by the Americans, 136. 

7'ory and Whig, terms comes into 
use, 121. 

Treachvell, Daniel, death of, 108. 

Trenton, battle at, 135. 

Triennial Act passed, 76- 

Tucke, John, minister of the Isles of 

Shoals, 131 

Turnpikes, several granted, 167. 

Tyler, Bennet, president of Dart- 
mouth college, 116 

Tyng, Eleazar, buries the slain of 
Love well's company, 73. 
XJ 

Underhill, John, chief magistrate of 
Dover, 14. 

Union of the American colonies pro- 
posed, 98. 

Union of the X. E. colonies, 17. 

Unitarian association o; N. II. form- 
ed. 200. 

United Fraternity, 186. 

Upham, Timothy, candidate for gov- 
ernor, 199. 

Usher, John, appointed lieut. govern- 
or, 47 — character of, -18 — irritates 
the people by his conduct, 51 — su- 
perseded by Partridge, 52 — is re- 
stored to his seat, 54 — is appoint- 
ed lieut. governor under Dudley. 37 
— retires to Medford, 63. 
V 

Van Rensselaer, general, defeat of, 
180. 

Vaughan, George, 10. 

Vaughan, George, sent to England 
as agent, 56 — appointed lieut. gov- 
ernor 63, 64 — suspends Penhallovv, 
64 — is suspended by gov. Shute, 
64 — is removed from office by the 
king, 64. 

Vaughan, William, counsellor, 32, 
37 — appeals to the king, 41 — sus- 
pended by Usher, 51. 



220 



INDEX. 



Vaughan, William, proposes plan 
for taking Louisburg, 86 — deatl 
of, 87. 

Vermont, land in, on Connecticut 
river surveyed, 109— township in 
granted by gov. B. Wentworth, 
109 — is organized into an inde 
pendent state, 135. 

Villieu, a French commander, 49. 

Volcanic Mountain, 96. 

Voters in N. H. } number of, in 1684, 
35. 

Voting, corn and beans, used in, 17 
W 

Wadsworth, captain Samuel, slab 
by Indians, 28. 

Wahwa, an Indian chief, 72. 

Waldo's patent, 131. 

IValdron, Richard, of Dover, mem- 
ber and speaker of the gen. court, 
21, 22 — Indians meet at his house 
29 — yields to the seizure of the In- 
dians, 29 — counsellor, 32 — deputy 
to the president, 34 — commander 
in-chief of the militia,34 — succeed; 
president Cutts, 36 — is suspended 
by Cranfield, 36, 37— killed by the 
Indians, 43, 49. 

IValdron, Richard, of Dover and 
Portsmouth, escapes the Indians, 
50 — counsellor, 51 — suspended by 

Usher, 51 suit of ejectment 

brought against by Allen, 55, 79 — 
death of, 84. 

IValdron, Richard, of Portsmouth, 
provincial secretary, 79 — suspend- 
ed from his seat in the council, S5 
— chosen speaker of the House of 
Reps. 95— death of, 108. 

IValdron, William, magistrate at 
Dover, 16. 

Walker, admiral, sent fromEnglam 
against Quebec, 61. 

Walker, Timothy, minister of Con 
cord, 119 — death of, 151. 

Walker, Timothy, 146, 151— -can 
didate for governor, 169. 

Walling ford, Thomas, a Mason ian 
proprietor, 89 — death of, 123. 

Walpole attacked by the Indians, 
100. 

Walton, Shadrach, commands in an 
expedition, 61— commands a par- 



ty to the eastward, 69 — presides 
over the council, 78, 80. 

War with France, 86, 98— revolu- 
tionary, commencement of, 125— 
declared against Great Britain, 
180. 

Wars with the Indians, — Pequot, 
13— king Philip's, 25, 29.— king 
William's, 41 — Queen Anne's, 57, 
Lovewell's 72. 

Warner, Seih, regiment of,reinforces 
Stark, 137. 

Warnerton, Thomas, 10, 12 — assist- 
ant magistrate, 14 — appointed ma- 
gistrate for Portsmontli, 16, 18. 

Warren, Peter, commodore of the 
naval forces, in the Louisburg ex- 
pedition, 87. 

Washington city attacked by the 
British, and public buildings burnt, 
182. 

Washington, George, takes com- 
mand of the Amei ican army, 129 
— enters Boston triumphantly, 133 
— marches to N. York, 134, 144, 
148 — interposes in the Vermont 
controversy, 149 — chosen presi- 
dent of the convention for adopt- 
ing the federal constitution, 158 — 
chosen president of the U. S., 160 
— visits N. El., 160 — again elected 
president, 164— ratifies Jay's trea- 
ty, 167 — declines another election 
to the presidency, 167 — death of, 
169. 

Washington, town of, 157. 

Waternummus, an Indian chief, 70 
—killed by Capt. Baker, 70. 

Weave, Meshech, chosen speaker of 
the House of Reps., 96 — appointed 
president of the council, and chief 
justice of the superior court, 132 — 
resignation, death and character of, 
153— is named, 98, 142, 151, 152. 

Weare, Nathaniel, sent to England, 
37 — success of mission of, 39 — 
chosen speaker of the assembly, 
76. 

Weave, Richard, mortallv wounded, 
136. 

Weather, very cold, in 1816, 183. 

Webb, general, 103. 

Webster, David, settles at Plymouth, 
110. 



INDEX. 



221 



Ebenezer, member of the 
■ •n of 1781, 146 
1. xi kid, in nice of the cir- 
ri- of his death, 204. 
ihn W., measurement of 
fountains by, 153. 
' homas, first minister of 
. 23. 
effects of whirlwind at, 

!, Benning, 77 — counsel- 
-appointed governor, S3 — 

il surveyor general, 84 — 
:s of the expedition i g 
i g 87, 88,9 1— altercations 
i the assembly, 95 — com- 

of to the king, 95, 96— 
the chair, 113 — character 

•tii, John, of Portsmouth is 

.1 lieut. gov., 64 — becomes 

ider in chief, TO, 7b" — dis- 

iie asesmbly, 76 — death and 

»f, "7, 84. 

• 'th, John, a Masonian pro- 

89. 
•th, John, appointed gov 

1-1 — arrives at Portsmouth, 
•tice of, 114,118, 120, 131 

up his residence in the fort, 
ise plundered, 127 — leaves 
and becomes governor ol 
cotia, 129— death of, 129. 
■ th, .Mark H , a Masonian 
tor, 89. 
'th, Paul, map engraved at 

of, 119. 
enjamin, 158 — member of 
d convention, 183 — death 

)k, colonel, is sent to seize 
19. 
. . John, 164. 

eland, 88 — occurrence at, 

er Mountain, volcanic, 96. 
. John, family of, killed, 59. 
■:, Eleazar, minister of Leb- 
onn., establishes an Indian 
116 — first president of 
nth college, 116. 
", John, president of Dart- 
college, 116— visifof, ti 
, 163— is removed from the 



office of president, 1F5 — reinstated 
by new trustees, 186 — death of, 
187 — incident in relation to the 
u idovv of, 190. 

Win i Iwright, John, deed to, from In- 
dians, (a forgery,) 9— banished 
from Ms., 14 — settles at Exeter, 14 
— removes to Wells in Me., 16 — 
returns to Hampton, 17 — kindly re- 
ceived in England by Oliver Crom- 
well, 17 — returns again to N. E., 
17. 

Wheelwrights Pond, in Lee, cn- 
nent at, 46. 

Whig and Tory, terms of, come into 
use, 121. 

Whipple, William, signer of the dec- 
laration of independence, 135 — 
commands a brigade, 136 — inci- 
dent relating to, 138, 1-10, 151. 

Whirlwind, a most violent one, 191. 

White, Bishop, 194. 

Whitefield, Ge >rge, visits N. E., 85 
— character of, 86, S7 — death of, 
123. 

White Mountains, notice of, 11 — al- 
titude of, 153. 

Wibird, Richard, Masonian propri- 
etor, 89, 9S, 114— judge of pro- 
bate, 123— death of, IS 

Wibird, Thomas, death of, 123. 

Wiggin, .Andrew, appointed judge 
ol probate, 85. 

Wiggin, Thomas, super intendenNat 
Dover, 10, 11 — appointed magis- 
trate, 16. 

Wilkinson, general, commands at 
the attempt tb penetrate Montreal, 
182 

Willard, Josiah, 90. 

Willard, Moses, killed by Indians, 
102. 

Willey, Samuel, and his family, kill- 
ed l \ the avalanche at the notch of 
the White Mountains, 197. 

William III., succeeds James II, 42 
— death of, 56. 

Williams, Francis, appointed gov. 
of Portsmouth, 13, 14 — magistrate, 
16. 

Williams, of Portsmouth, 

compelled to give up his slave, 19. 

Wilmot, 157. 



INDEX. 



Winchester settled , 75, 90 — persons 
captured at, 102. 

Winchester, general, defeated at 
French tow n, 182. 

Wingate, Paine, member of the con- 
vention of 1781, 146 — chosen sen- 
ator Hi Congress, 160. 

Winnipiseogee, 27, 45, 72, 91, 114 
— steam navigation introduced up- 
on, 201. 

JVinthrop, John, gov. of Ms., 33— 
death of in 1649,33. 

Wiswall, captain, killed by the In- 
dians, 46. 

Witchcraft, at Portsmouth, 21 — in 
Ms., 48, 

Wolfe, genaral James, takes Que- 
bec, 104. 

Wonolanset, 26. ' 



Woodbury, Levi, elected governor, 

193 — is succeeded by David L. ; i 

Morril, 195 — is elected senator in! 

Congress, 195 — is appointed sec- ! 

retary of the navy, 199. 
Woodward, Bezaleel, professor at 

Dartmouth College, 174. 
Worcester, Rev. Noah, writer of the 

"solemn review of the custom of 

war," 188. 
Worthen, major, erects forts on Tref- 

ethen and Pierce's Island, 129. 
Wyoming, laid waste by the Indians, 

133. 

Y 
York, in Upper Canada, captured, 

182. 
Yellow Fever, effects of, 168. 



ERRATA. 

Page 14 line 3, for adherants, read adherents. 
" 34 " 23, for governmental, read govermental. 
Erase the word not in this line. 
42 " 8, for alledged, read alleged. 
47 " 45, for journied, read journyed. 
51 •« 43, for he, read the. 
59 " 13, for nighly, read nightly. 
65 " 12, for exhited, read exhibited. 
70 " 29, for Walternummus, read Waternummus. 
79 '* 4t, for propogating, read propagating. 
84 " 39, for 1717, read 1727. 
92 " 14, for Dubeline, read Debeline. 
104 " 12, for Amiiercrombie, read Abercrombie. 
113 "*' 31, for assidious, read assiduous. 
148 u 35, for collissions, read collisions. 
161 " running date, for 1709, read 1790. 

169 " 39, insert by after Senate. 
176 '• 39, for session, read sessions, 
The name of John Langdon is erroneously inserted, page 135, :<.aong 
the signers of the Declaration of Independence. For John Langdon, read 
Josiah Bartlett of Kingston.. 



